Trying to keep your new grad in MN? Show this.

Minneapolis is the 6th best U.S. city for those just out of college and looking for jobs, according to this year’s ranking by Bloomberg Businessweek.

At #1 was Houston, followed by Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas. The profiles are in a slide show, but the full list also appears in Twin Cities Business.

Biggest loser? Indianapolis, which was #1 last year, but doesn’t even make the list this time around. Chicago, #7 last year, is also out of the race.

The survey, published earlier this month, compared factors such as entry-level job openings, average annual pay and cost of living. Minneapolis wasn’t in the rankings last year.

Key stats in the Minneapolis profile:

Number of Entry-Level Employers: 41

Average Annual Pay: $48,670

Cost of Living Index: 109.7

Unemployment Rate: 6.8 percent

The magazine liked the presence of Target, General Mills and PepsiAmericas, as well as the electronics, milling, machinery, and medical products industries.

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich

afriedrich@mpr.org

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.

wbgleason

You have to be a little suspicious of these rankings when one year a city isn't on the list and the next year it is #6.

The linkage between high tech jobs and higher ed here in Minnesota is problematic. Over the years many of my students – grads and undergrads – have had to move out of state for employment. They would have liked to stay in Minnesota but the jobs simply weren't here. Perhaps depending on biotech – as evidenced by the Elk Run fiasco and some other failed experiments – isn't such a great idea. New small companies could be formed based on chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, etc. The formerly named Institute of Technology at the U of M, properly supported, might actually outpace biotech in the long run as a jobs provider.