New grads looking for the right mix of job satisfaction and disposable income may want to saddle up and head to the Lone Star State.
Texas is home to six cities on our list of the Top 40 Happiest Cities For Job-seeking Grads, with two cities -- Houston and San Antonio -- in the top 10. Florida also has two cities in the top 10, Jacksonville and Orlando, and a total of four cities on entire list.
St. Louis took the No. 1 spot, and Philadelphia rounded things off at No. 40 (see the full list below).
So, how did we arrive at the list?
We looked at 14,000 company reviews submitted in the past year by employees with jobs that require less than two years of experience. The reviews measure employee happiness on a variety of factors -- such as compensation, management and work-life balance -- to determine an overall job happiness rating, the CareerBliss Score.
Using CareerBliss Scores, we determined which cities in general had the happiest workers (at least those workers with less than two years experience). Then we put them in a grinder with the cost-of-living-adjusted average salary for the 40 happiest cities and, voilà, out popped our list.
And, what does the list mean?
Here's our take: Salary should be considered as it relates to cost of living. On the surface, that great job in New York may pay well. But when you start looking at how much it costs to live in New York, you may start to feel like you're making a lot less. And that might make you unhappy. What good is living in New York when you don't make enough to really live in New York. That is, by the way, why larger cities, such as New York and San Francisco, didn't make the top 40.
On the other hand, if you found a job in a city where employees purport to be happy and the cost of living is lower -- say, St. Louis -- your overall happiness may be higher because you'd have more disposable income to spend on stuff like TVs, spa days and vacations (or, consider saving some of it!). Think of the top 40 as great starter cities, places where you can find a satisfying first job, have plenty of disposable income and get a great start to your professional career.
Don't worry -- New York and San Francisco will still be there in a few years (we assume).
Now, without further ado:
CareerBliss' Top 40 Cities for College Grads:
| Rank | City | CareerBliss Score* | Salary** |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis | 4.117 | $50,900 |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 4.111 | $43,010 |
| 3 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 4.083 | $45,736 |
| 4 | Memphis | 3.947 | $56,158 |
| 5 | Indianapolis | 4.021 | $44,757 |
| 6 | Orlando | 4.039 | $43,047 |
| 7 | Houston | 3.944 | $47,615 |
| 8 | San Antonio | 3.978 | $$43,640 |
| 9 | Oklahoma City | 3.943 | $42, 304 |
| 10 | Birmingham, Ala. | 3.907 | $47,491 |
| 11 | New Orleans | 3.964 | $39,793 |
| 12 | Tampa | 3.913 | $46,941 |
| 13 | Fort Worth | 3.909 | $43,566 |
| 14 | Dallas | 3.938 | $51,493 |
| 15 | Detroit | 3.893 | $50,480 |
| 16 | Cleveland | 3.959 | $41,040 |
| 17 | Charlotte | 3.866 | $42,819 |
| 18 | Austin | 3.856 | $48,118 |
| 19 | Louisville | 3.843 | $44,221 |
| 20 | Des Moines | 3.834 | $41,367 |
| 21 | Miami | 4.003 | $36,855 |
| 22 | Tulsa | 3.814 | $49,556 |
| 23 | Phoenix | 3.891 | $49,451 |
| 24 | Atlanta | 3.879 | $49,521 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 3.805 | $42,126 |
| 26 | El Paso | 3.736 | $45,155 |
| 27 | Cincinnati | 3.765 | $46,478 |
| 28 | Saint Paul | 3.951 | $41,389 |
| 29 | Seattle | 4.003 | $44,472 |
| 30 | Las Vegas | 3.820 | $49,079 |
| 31 | Portland | 3.949 | $46,215 |
| 32 | San Diego | 4.071 | $35,946 |
| 33 | Denver | 3.844 | $45,421 |
| 34 | Kansas City | 3.767 | $43,595 |
| 35 | Tucson | 3.699 | $48,741 |
| 36 | Chicago | 3.905 | $40,710 |
| 37 | Baltimore | 3.933 | $36,898 |
| 38 | Fresno | 3.806 | $46,572 |
| 39 | Minneapolis | 3.793 | $46,572 |
| 39 | Philadelphia | 3.913 | $40,014 |
*CareerBliss Scores are derived from independent reviews submitted by CareerBliss users.
**Salaries adjusted for cost of living.
