New research data found that Atlanta is the best city in the United States to start a career in while New York City is the worst.
The data was published by personal finance website WalletHub and states that the Georgia city is accompanied by Orlando and Salt Lake City in the top three.
At the very bottom of the list alongside the Big Apple are cities like Gulfport, Mississippi and Newark, New Jersey.
To determine the results, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities – including the 150 most populous cities – examining professional opportunities and quality of life.
To determine the results, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities – including the 150 most populous cities – examining professional opportunities and quality of life
New research data found that Atlanta, Georgia (left) is the best city in the United States to start a career in while New York City (right) is the worst
The outlet looked at more than 180 U.S. cities and used 26 key indicators of career-friendliness including monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale and scores ranged from 0 to 100.
Atlanta, the overall top city, received a score of 66.87, ranking number two in professional opportunities and number seven in quality of life.
The number one city in professional opportunities, Miami, ranked seventh overall on the list while ranking 101st in quality of life.
Just behind Atlanta, Orlando, and Salt Lake City are Columbia, South Carolina and Tampa Florida.
Tempe, Arizona – which ranks 12th on the overall list – came in first for quality of life and 54th on the list of professional opportunities.
At the very bottom of the list, New York City took 181st in professional opportunities and 171st in quality of life. The city’s overall score was just 33.29.
Just below New York are Gulfport and Newark, followed by Detroit, Michigan and Santa Clarita, California.
Orlando, Florida (left) and Salt Lake City, Utah took the second and third spots on the list
Along with New York City, Gulfport, Mississippi (left) and Newark, New Jersey (right) made the bottom three cities for starting a career
Three of the top cities for average starting salaries when adjusted for cost of living are found in Texas as Austin, Houston, and Fort Worth split the top spot.
Durham, North Carolina and Tacoma, Washington also ranked at number one.
On the opposite end, Gulfport, Anchorage, Honolulu, Pearl City, and Juneau came in at the bottom.
Cities with the most entry-level jobs include Orlando, Columbia, and St. Louis while the bottom three are Moreno Valley, California, Santa Clarita, and New York.
Another major factor in WalletHub’s research was affordable housing which New York also ranked last in, alongside Glendale and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Des Moines, Iowa have the most affordable housing.
Among the youngest cities are Seattle, Boston, and Denver, while the oldest cities include Gilbert, Arizona, Peoria, Arizona, and Cape Coral, Florida.