Thought this was an interesting look at where kids are headed after graduation these days...
https://joinhandshake.com/blog/employers/where-are-college-students-going-after-they-graduate/
"Handshake looked at platform data from August 2023 to August 2024 for applications to full time roles. Through this analysis, we used total application volume to determine candidate interest in locations across the US."
Key takeaways:
"New York City continues to be a top 3 city for applications for candidates in the South, West, and Northeast."
College students by region:
Northeast: 77% want to stay in that region
Midwest: 59% want to stay in that region
West: 68% want to stay in that region
South: only 28% want to stay in that region
College grads across the US:
New York City alone accounted for 10% of all applications across the US. What’s more, over the last year, New York City received twice as many applications as Chicago, the next most popular city. New York City continues to be a top 3 city for applications for candidates in the South, West, and Northeast.
The top 3 locations receiving the most applications from students have remained steady since last year: New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC. There has been some decline in applications to locations that are major tech hubs, like San Francisco, Austin, and Seattle.
Top 15 cities by application volume 2024 Rank YoY rank change
New York, New York 1 0
Chicago, Illinois 2 0
Washington, District of Columbia 3 0
Boston, Massachusetts 4 −1
Dallas, Texas 5 1
San Francisco, California 6 −1
Atlanta, Georgia 7 1
Los Angeles, California 8 0
Austin, Texas 9 −2
Houston, Texas 10 1
Seattle, Washington 11 −2
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 12 0
San Jose, California 13 −1
Minneapolis, Minnesota 14 −3
Phoenix, Arizona 15 0
College grads from the Northeast:
Of all applications from students and recent grads at schools in the Northeast, 77% of applications were to jobs in that region. Despite the density of cities in the region, New York City is the top city drawing applications in the Northeast, accounting for 41% of all applications.
Top 15 cities college students and recent grads in the Northeast are applying to: #1 New York City #2 Boston #3 Washington, DC #4 Chicago #5 San Francisco #6 Dallas #7 Philadelphia #8 Atlanta #9 Los Angeles #10 Baltimore #11 Seattle #12 Houston #13 Austin #14 San Jose #15 Minneapolis
College grads from the Midwest:
Of all applications from students and recent grads at schools in the Midwest, 59% were to jobs in the region. But Chicago is the main draw: 22% of all applications from candidates in the Midwest are submitted to jobs in Chicago
Top 15 cities college students and recent grads in the Midwest are applying to: #1 Chicago #2 New York City #3 Washington, DC #4 Dallas #5 Boston #6 Detroit #7 Minneapolis #8 San Francisco #9 Atlanta #10 Columbus #11 Los Angeles #12 Indianapolis #13 Cincinnati #14 Houston #15 Naperville
College grads from the West:
Of all applications from students and recent grads at schools in the West, 68% were to jobs in that region. Unlike other regions, a single city did not capture a sizable share of applications. Student location interests from those in the West were more varied with Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City each accounting for 15% of all applications.
Top 15 cities college students and recent grads in the West are applying to: #1 Los Angeles #2 San Francisco #3 New York #4 San Jose #5 Chicago #6 Washington, DC #7 Phoenix #8 Seattle #9 Irvine #10 San Diego #11 Dallas #12 Boston #13 Atlanta #14 Sacramento #15 Denver
College grads from the South:
Which cities are candidates in the South applying to?
Of all applications from students and recent grads at schools in the South, 28% went to jobs in that region. New York City again was the top city drawing applications from candidates in the South, accounting for 25% of all applications.
Top 15 cities college students and recent grads in the South are applying to: #1 New York City #2 Dallas #3 Atlanta #4 Washington, DC #5 Chicago #6 Austin #7 Houston #8 Boston #9 San Francisco #10 Tampa #11 Charlotte #12 Los Angeles #13 Miami #14 Denver #15 Raleigh