Top 25 US cities for fresh graduates!

The Daily Beast announced it second annual ranking of the best American cities for fresh graduates.

So you've just graduated from an American university and are looking to start a fresh new life! The Daily Beast recently released its annual list of the best cities to live in for fresh university graduates.

The figures were taken from Bureau of Labor Statistics, C2Er, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Census.

According to the survey, traditional cities such as New York City or Los Angeles aren't a good bet as they may not necessarily offer 'low rents, cheap eats, good job prospects, and decent pay'.

Cities such as Austin, Savannah and Seattle are great cities offering low rents, young population and decent cost of living, the survey says.

The Daily Beast concludes that if you're a fresh university graduate it would hold you in good stead to 'unpack (your) bags in the South, where cost of living is low, job growth is strong, and average earnings are high'.

Housing, employment, affordability and relationships were some of the primary parameters considered in the survey.

The state that topped a list of being the least stressed state recently, Hawaii also figures in this list, though at number 25.

With a population of 907,574 of which 4.8 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24, its capital Honolulu has an unemployment rate of 5.1 and an average per-capita personal income of $45,496.

Kalamazoo has a population of 326,634 with an unemployment rate of 9.5. The average per-capita personal income: $33,075 and the city ranks number 24 in the list.

One of the most popular tourist destinations, San Antonio is also the home to five Fortune 500 companies: Clear Channel Communications, Tesoro, USAA, Valero Energy Corp and NuStar Energy.

With a population of 2,073,092 of which 4.3 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years and an average per-capita personal income of $36,285 San Antonio ranks 23rd in the list.

As of March 2010, the Albany area had the lowest unemployment rate (7.8 per cent as against 9.4 per cent in the state as a whole) of any major metropolitan area in the state of New York.

In 2008 during the downturn, it was also among the 25 strongest housing markets in the US and a year later figured in  Forbes' Best Bang-For-The-Buck list.

With a population of 857,592 of which 4.6 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years, Albany has an unemployment rate of 7.2, an average per-capita personal income of $42,206 and is 22nd in the list of the best American cities for young graduates.

Despite the downturn, Seattle has a strong economy and has a lot of start-up businesses in the area of clean technologies.

The city that has been ranked as the country's number one 'smarter city' because of its government policies and green economy is home to three of the Fortune 500 companies in the United States -- Amazon.com, Starbucks and Nordstrom.

Other companies with Seattle is associated include Microsoft and Costco among others that are located in the nearby cities.

Seattle has a population of 3,407,848, unemployment rate of 9.2 and an average per-capita personal income of $50,378.

Shreveport has a population of 391,516 of which 3.9 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years.

With an unemployment rate of 7.2 and an average per-capita personal income of $38,358 Shreveport ranks 20th in the list.

Last year, the Des Moines metropolitan area was ranked as one of the best places for business and careers by Forbes magazine. The mag included it in its list after considering factors such as cost of doing business, crime rate, educational attainment and the cost of living.

The average per-capita personal income in Des Moines is $42,012.

With a population of 562,993 and an unemployment rate standing at 6.6, Des Moines ranks at number 19 in the list of the best places for fresh graduates.

The ninth safest city in the United States in 2006 according to the FBI, Stamford has a population of 901,208 of which 3.3 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years.

Stamford has an unemployment rate of 8.7, an average per-capita personal income of $74,767 and ranks 18 in the list.

The city has been ranked by BusinessWeek as the best place in the country to raise a family in 2009.

A year before that it was ranked as the best up-and-coming tech city in the nation by Forbes magazine and is also number three on the fDi Magazine's 2007 list of American cities of the future

With a population of 1,801,848 of which 3.6 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years and an average per-capita personal income of $37,999, Columbus is the 17th best city in the US for young graduates.

New Orleans has a population of 1,189,981 of which 8 per cent is between the ages of 22 and 24 years.

With the unemployment rate standing at 7.9 and an average per-capita personal income: $42,705 New Orleans ranks 16 in the list.

With one of the strongest economies in the country, Baton Rouge was rated by Portfolio magazine as one of the top ten places for young adults last year. CNN ranked it as the ninth best place in the country to start a new business.

Baton Rouge has a population of 786,947 with 6 per cent of it being between the age of 22 and 24 years.

32 per cent of housing units in the city are available for rent and it enjoys an average per-capita personal income of $38,107.

Baton Rouge ranks 15 in The Daily Beast's list of best places for young graduates.

Ranked at number 14, Corpus Christi has a population of 416,095 of which 4.3 per cent are between the ages of 22 and 24.

The Texan city has an unemployment rate of 7.9 and an average per-capita personal income of $36,558.

The unofficial 'capital of New England' and one of the oldest cities in the United States Boston, Massachusetts is one of the top life sciences cluster in the US.

Tourism is one of the major industries in the city that houses 4,588,680 people, as is the financial services industry.

With an unemployment rate of 7.1 and an average per-capita personal income of $53,553 Boston ended at number 13 in the list.

The capital of the United States has ended being number 12 on the list of the best cities for fresh graduates.

Washington DC has a population of 5,476,241, 4.1 per cent of which is between the age of 22 and 24, and boasts of an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent and an average per-capita personal income of $56,984.

According to the survey, Savannah has a population of 343,092, unemployment rate of 8.6 and 4.9 per cent of its population between the age of 22 and 24.

Savannah also has about 37 per cent of housing units for rent, an average per-capita personal income of $38,348 and ranks at number 11 in the list.

The second cleanest city in the US according to Forbes, Little Rock boasts of a population of 686,212.

36 per cent of the housing units in Little Rock are available on rent while the unemployment rate stands at 6.8.

According to the survey, the average per-capita personal income is $39,431 making it the tenth most preferred place for young graduates.

Tulsa is the second largest city in the state of Oklahoma and has a population of 930,246 of which 4.1 per cent is between the age of 22 and 24 years.

According to The Daily Beast survey, the unemployment rate stands at 6.5 and the average per-capita personal income is $40,402.

Tulsa, Oklahoma is ranked at number 9 in the list.

The ninth largest city in the United States, Dallas is home to 15 billionaires and is said to be the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States.

With a population of 6,447,228, 38 per cent of housing units being up for rent and an average per-capita personal income of $41,764, Dallas, Texas has been rated at number eight on the list.

Durham is the fifth-largest city in the state of North Carolina and has a population of 501,228

With 4.5 per cent of population between the age of 22 and 24 years, 38 per cent of housing units available for rent and an average per-capita personal income of $41,008, Durham ranks at number seven in the list.

Lexington is said to have one of America's most stable economies thanks to abundant government and technology jobs.

With a population of 470,849 and an average per-capita personal income of $35,715, the city is home to three Fortune 500 companies -- Affiliated Computer Services, Lexmark International and Hewlett Packard.

Lexington is ranked at number six.

Huston, is the fourth largest city in the United States and has often been featured in various 'best city' lists.

Back in 2006, Forbes magazine ranked its metropolitan area as the third best place for business and careers in the US.

The magazine has ranked the city at number four for the 'highest increase in the local technological innovation over the preceding 15 years' and also the best city for college graduates as well as the best city to buy a home.

In 2010, Forbes also rated it as the best city for shopping in the US.

With a population of 5,865,086 of which 4.1 per cent are between age 22 and 24 years and an average per-capita personal income of $46,570, Austin Texas is ranked by The Daily Beast at number 5 of the best cities for fresh graduates.

The city is a major hub for high tech companies with the metro Austin area boasting of far lower housing costs than Silicon Valley. Over the years the city has also emerged as a centre for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Austin has a population of 1,705,075, boasts of an unemployment rate of 6.8 and an average per-capita personal income of $37,544.

America's 31st most populated city, Oklahoma City has a population of 1,227,278 with 4.8 per cent of them being in the age bracket of 22 and 24.

Forbes magazine has named Oklahoma City the most "recession proof city in America due to its falling unemployment, strong housing market and 'solid growth in energy, agriculture and manufacturing'.

The current unemployment rate in Oklahoma City stands at 5.2 and the average per-capita personal income is $38,742.

The largest city in the state of Nebraska, Omaha came second in the list of the best places for young graduates.

Omaha is also where five of the Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters: Union Pacific Corporation, ConAgra Foods, Mutual of Omaha, Peter Kiewit Sons, Inc and Berkshire Hathaway.

In 2009, Forbes identified Omaha as the nation's number one "Best Bang-For-The Buck City"

The city has an unemployment rate of 5.1 and an average per-capita personal income is $42,982.

With a population of 360,355 and over 6.4 per cent of the population between the age of 22 and 24, Fayetteville, NC ranks number one in the list. 44 per cent of housing units are available for rent and the average per-capita personal income is $40,045.