Starting a career after graduation? You want to be in the Twin Cities

It might be a tough hiring market for this year’s college graduates, but a new survey says if you’re a young person looking to start a career and put down some roots, you want to be in Minneapolis or Saint Paul.

Minneapolis ranked fifth on the national survey — behind Washington, D.C., Denver, Irving, Texas, and Seattle.

Curiously, considering its high rank, Minneapolis didn’t appear in the top five of any of the major categories cited to help determine ranking. Los Angeles had the most leisure establishments per inhabitants (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is ranked fifth); Springfield, Missouri, has the most affordable apartments to rent; Washington has the best mating opportunities; San Jose, California, has the highest starting salaries; Yonkers, New York, has the most entry-level jobs.

You know what city is in the top five in a major category? Saint Paul, which ranks fifth in job growth.

Somehow out of all of that, Minneapolis ranks fifth overall in the survey, despite ranking 11th in quality of life and 24th in professional opportunities.

Saint Paul ranks 14th in professional opportunities, 36th in quality of life for an overall rank of 12th.

In recent months, Sioux Falls has gotten plenty of publicity for its job growth and opportunities in a growing economy, but it ranks only 116th in professional opportunities, 20th in quality of life, for an overall rank of 66th.

Here are some of the factors that went into the survey:

Quality of Life

Average Annual Income, Adjusted for Cost of Living: 1
Arts, Leisure & Recreation Establishments Per 100,000 Inhabitants: 1
Percentage of the Population Ages 25-34: 1
Mating Opportunities (share of population that has never been married): 1
Strength of Social Ties: 1
Percentage of the Population with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher: 1
Population Growth: 0.5
Average 2-Bedroom Rent: 0.5
Housing Costs: 0.5

Professional Opportunities

Number of Entry-Level Jobs Per 100,000 Inhabitants: 1
Monthly Median Starting Salary: 1
Technology Jobs as a Percentage of Total City Employment: 1
Annual Job Growth, Adjusted for Population Growth: 1
Median Income Growth Rate: 1
Economic Mobility: 1
Workforce Diversity: 1
Current Unemployment Rate: 0.5
Entrepreneurial Activity: 0.5