Best Cities for Young Adults Through AD 2020, by Kiplinger

Business Forecasts for Young Adults

The Kiplinger Newsletter is a publication that is relevant for news and various economic forecasts for all age groups, including Young Adults and any worker with a new job.

Today, Kiplinger is a leader based in Washington DC and specializing in business forecasts, personal financial advice, and a number of media: hard-copy print, on-line website, audio podcasts, video, and even available software.

The company continues to offer top forecasts in a number of business and finance topics, including jobs and relocation.

Kiplinger is not the only business and finance company to publish Top 10. Top 50, or Top 100 lists every year for America.

In addition to American publications, several Canadian business and finance publications are also useful and well prepared.

Many find it interesting to compare federal and local business and employment trends with actual job listings to determine how close the forecasts come to reality.

City travel and job trend articles often include this comparison and I have done one here for the Kiplinger Top 10 Best Cities for Young Adult Professionals (YAP) and updates since 2010.

Surprises in the Best American Cities

Many people have voiced surprise that Lansing, Michigan comes in at Number Six in the Top 10 Best Cities for YAP list, but I visited that city myself and found it remarkable.

A substantial amount of revitalization is ongoing in the downtown area from the Capitol area out to Michigan State University, encompassing a beautiful river that runs across the city.

The university is laid out in near-concentric circles from a central core containing not only a huge library and a large botanical garden, but a large museum. City bus stops are everywhere near this inner circle. Buses run often on a large number of routes and can carry passengers to the outskirts of the east side and to the Meridian Mall. A transit station is located next to the university, supplying buses and frequent trains.

The Potter Park Zoo and is on the Red Cedar River downtown and part of a much larger park with bike and foot trails, picnicking, and numerous shade trees. Standing water-misters are available in the zoo for visitors and animals alike. A salt water exhibit of a living coral reef is breathtaking.

The rescue work done by the zoo is exhilarating, with two bald eagles in a low aerie that visitors may approach for close up viewing. Adopting an animal financially is possible and the prices in the gift shop overall were far lower than I had expected as well, compared with other zoos.

County residents enjoy a deeply discounted entrance fee to the complex - Just $4.00. One could happily spend the entire day in the pleasant surroundings. The faculties are expanding with new animals to be added and Pennsylvania Avenue outside has undergone reconstruction and widening. Another addition is called Wings Down Under, featuring hundreds of grass parakeets and other birds from that area of the world.

Nearer the State Capitol is a baseball park where visitors can peer down into the game from the sidewalks at no charge.They can even seat themselves at the picnic tables along the rim of the enclosure to enjoy the game while they eat.

The venue is the Cooley Law School Stadium formerly Oldsmobile Ballpark, home of the minor league Lansing Lugnuts. Large colorful picnic tables and chairs are anchored along one side of the stadium on the sidewalk and people can bring food or purchase dinner from one of many shops just a few dozen feet away in the downtown district.

I have found the people of Lansing to be consistently very cordial, open, and welcoming, from the zoo to the Capitol to the ball park. The diversity is remarkable, with university students and other residents and visitors from around the world, including a large family I met from northern Asia.

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The Kiplinger Top 10 Best Cities for Young Adult Professionals

1) Austin, Texas

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: 30%
• Leading Companies: Austin School District, Dell, City and Federal Govt, IBM, Seton Healthcare, St. David's Healthcare, University of Texas at Austin.
• Top Job Listers: Dell, AT&T, Seton Family of Hospitals, Temps Inc, Kforce Professional Staffing, Hospital Jobs Online, Volt Services, St. Davids Healthcare, AMD - Advanced Micro Devices, Scott and White Hospital.

2) Charlotte, NC - Also a CNNMoney Magazine Smart City

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 22%
• Leading Companies: Carolinas Healthcare System, Wells Fargo/Wachovia Corp., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, Presbyterian Regional Healthcare, Delhaize America.
• Top Job Listers: Bank Of America, Kforce, Carolinas HealthCare System, TIAA-CREF, TEKsystems, Bayada Nurses, IBM, Wells Fargo Bank, AT&T, Food Lion, Deloitte, Time Warner Cable.

3) Chicago Ill.

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 25%
• Leading Companies: City, State and Federal Govt, Chicago Public Schools, Wal-Mart, Advocate Health Care, Walgreen's, JP Morgan Chase, Abbott Laboratories, AT&T
• Top Job Listers: Request Technology,Deloitte, HCR ManorCare, The University of Chicago, AT&T, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, JPMorgan Chase, Kforce Professional Staffing, Allstate, Heritage Healthcare Group, Critical Connection, Navistar International

4) Houston TX

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 24%
• Leading Companies: Wal-Mart, Memorial Hermann Healthcare, Administaff, The UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Continental Airlines, Kroger, Exxon Mobil.
• Top Job Listers: Memorial Hermann, Pizza Hut, Tenet Health, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, Baker Hughes, Methodist Hospital System, UT Health Science Center at Houston, IBM, Ajilon, JPMorgan Chase, HP.

5) Kansas City MO

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: over 22%
• Leading Companies (from Acinet.org): Pennzoil Quakerstate, Cerner Health, H & R Block, Hallmark Cards, City adn Federal Govt.
• Top Job Listers: HCA - The Healthcare Company, Aerotek, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, All About Staffing, IBM, Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, AT&T, Garmin, Critical Connection, Centerpoint Medical Center, The University of Kansas Medical Center, HCR ManorCare.

6) Lansing, MI

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 27%
• Largest/Leading Employers (per Acinet.org): State Government, Michigan State University, Lansing Community College, Clinton Memorial Hospital, Sparrow Hospital, St. Lawrence Hospital, Carson City Hospital, Ingham Regional Hospital, Lansing Auto/Parts MFG.
• Top Job Listers: Sparrow Health, IBM, Brookdale Senior Living, Michigan State University, Gentiva Health, Bank of America, DART Container, Emergent BioSolutions, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Jackson National Life Insurance Company.

7) NYC

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 22%
• Largest/Leading Employers (from Acinet.org): MetLife, Volt Info Services, Chartis Inc, Merril Lynch and Co., Capital Brokers, Beth Israel Med Center/Psychiatric Dept., Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, City and Burrough Govt.
• Top Job Listers: Mitchell Martin, Kforce, Nursefinders, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Executive Search, Robert Half Legal, Morgan Stanley, Hospital Jobs Online, Ajilon Professional Staffing, CompHealth, HSBC.

8) Portland OR

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 22%
• Leading Companies: Intel, Fred Meyer Stores, Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Health Systems, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the NW, City Govt, Legacy Health System.
• Top Job Listers: Professional Technical Resources (PTR), Providence Health, Kaiser Permanente, Oregon Health & Science University, Kforce Professional Staffing, Nike, Ajilon Professional Staffing, Intel, IBM, Kelly IT Resources, Aerotek Aviation, Robert Half International, Wells Fargo Bank.

9) Salt Lake City, Utah

• The Percentage Population that is Generation Y: about 29%
• Leading Companies: University of Utah, State and County Govt, Salt Lake City School District, Novus, Delta, LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City Corp.
• Top Job Listers: Intermountain Healthcare, L-3 Communications, Kforce, Ajilon Professional Staffing, ARUP Laboratories, US Army Medical Corps, CR England Trucking, Blockbuster, TEKsystems, IASIS Healthcare, AT&T.

10) Washington DC

• Best10 Summer Jobs for High School, College, and Adult Workers: Best companies and government supported jobs programs across America.

>The percentage of Generation Y residents is 27.2% in DC.

• Leading Companies: US Federal Govt, McDonald's, Northrop Grumman, Science Applications International, Verizon Communications, Safeway, Ahold USA, Wal-Mart, Macy's, Citigroup.
• Top Job Advertisers: General Dynamics Information Technology, Booz Allen Hamilton, CSC, CACI, ManTech International Corporation, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, Bae Systems, Critical Connection, Inova Health Systems.

>Note: Many of the companies listed are affiliated with the NASA Commercial Crew and other national and international aerospace/defense programs. Many of them offer internships as well as other work.

Bonus City: Anchorage AK

Anchorage is beginning to show up on "best cities lists" in the late 2010s.

During August 2018, SmartAsset.com reported the city as one of the most diverse job markets in the country, with a low unemployment rate for young adults and high median earnings for full-time workers. Anchorage ranks in the top 25 for both qualities.

According to recent data at SmartAsset, the median rental in the city costs just 28% of the median full-time income -- lower than the 34% it costs on average in America.

Sources

• BusinessWeek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice

  Read the latest international business news & stock market news. Get updated company profiles, financial advice, global economy and technology news.

• CNNMoney.com: CNN, Fortune, Money, Business 2.0 and Fortune Small Business magazines are all at this website. They provide business news and financial market coverage updated throughout the day, stock quotes, investing advice, tools, Top and Best lists, and archives for research.
• The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance
• US News & World Report - Breaking News, World News, Business News, and America's Best Colleges: US News and World Report gives you breaking headline news from the world, national and international news on business and financial news. America's Best College rankings, politics, and health news.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2010 Patty Inglish MS

Comments and News

Dim Flaxenwick from Great Britain on August 18, 2010:

Great to hear good news of job prospects. So much doom and gloom advertised. Thank you.

BobbiRant from New York on August 07, 2010:

My son just graduated college and is moving to Chicago to live with a friend there in a few week. Good to know it made the list.

lamincome on August 07, 2010:

Thanks for the valuable info!

Hello, hello, from London, UK on August 02, 2010:

Good helpful hub with all round information.

Ethel Smith from Kingston-Upon-Hull on August 01, 2010:

As always a wealth of info for prospective employees