Columbus among top 10 cities to start a career in U.S., according to study

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus is among the top 10 best cities to start a career in the United States, according to a recent study.

Elevate Leadership, a training platform for managers, compared America’s 50 largest cities across 10 metrics including job market strength, commute times, work-life balance and housing costs. The company drew data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The analysis ranked Columbus as the ninth-best city in the country to start a career. The city had the fifth-shortest commute time at 23.1 minutes and ranked seventh for work-life balance, a metric based on factors such as the number of hours in the average work week, local entertainment, and walkability. 

Taking the No. 1 spot was Minneapolis, which ranked second in work-life balance and had the third-lowest unemployment rate for young adults at 7%. 

Minneapolis was followed by Austin, Texas (No. 2); Raleigh, North Carolina (No. 3); Seattle (No. 4); Cincinnati (No. 5); Phoenix (No. 6); Albuquerque, New Mexico (No. 7); Washington (No. 8); and Colorado Springs, Colorado (No. 10). 

The worst cities to start a career according to the study are Fresno, California; Miami; El Paso, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; Tampa, Florida; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago; and Memphis, Tennessee.