The most popular cities for recent college graduates

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic closed offices and integrated remote work, most new college graduates expect to start their careers working in person rather than from home.

As summer draws to a close, more than a million of these recent graduates migrate into the workforce, with some cities seeing a spike in new hires.

The East Coast and California continue to attract a large percentage of recent graduates, with 44 percent of all 2024 graduates and 77 percent of graduates from the top 20 universities moving to the nation’s top ten major metropolitan areas, according to a recent study by to commercial real. real estate management and investment company hIL.

“By virtue of robust job availability, most major office markets continue to attract a disproportionate number of college graduates, serving as talent magnets that draw pipelines from nearby metros and other markets entirely,” said Jacob Rowden , Senior Manager, Office Research at JLL. .

“Most recent graduates will never move to another metro once they’ve established their careers, so by capturing a greater share of newly created talent, these cities create a positive feedback loop that will help drive innovation long-term and stronger economic outcomes.”

While the Northeast and West Coast continue to attract new graduates, other regions are also seeing a noticeable increase in young professionals. Sun Belt cities—such as Atlanta, Austin, and Dallas—benefit from attracting a 31 percent increase in their share of knowledge economy jobs.

At the same time, affordable Midwestern cities — including Cincinnati, Columbus and Pittsburgh — attracted 38,000 more graduates in 2024 than in previous years, according to JLL’s analysis.

Read on to find out which cities attract the most recent college graduates.