Colorado Ranks No. 7 Among States For New Grads To Start Career

Colorado State University and University of Northern Colorado seniors should rejoice.

Business.org just ranked Colorado the seventh best state for new graduates to start their career in 2020.

Multiple factors were considered when putting this list together, including:

• Median rent as a percentage of household income (25%) The higher rent costs are for recent grads, the harder it'll be for them to buy other things they might need or save for their future.
• Percentage of jobs requiring a bachelor's degree or higher (25%) Business.org says that states with a higher percentage of jobs that require a bachelor's degree or higher will provide recent graduates with more opportunities to score a job that matches their education.
• Employment growth projection from 2019–2021 in percentage points (20%) States that are booming with new businesses will need to hire employees for various open roles, providing recent graduates with more opportunities to secure a job.
• Unemployment rate in 2018 (age 25–29) (20%) The lower the unemployment rate in this age range is, the better chance recent grads have to get employed
• Unemployment rate change from April to July 2020 in percentage points (10%) Business.org found information regarding the unemployment rate change between April and July of this year in all 50 states; Lower values on the chart below signify a decline in unemployment during this time period.

Utah has the highest employment growth projection of 5.5% for 2019–2021 and the third lowest unemployment rate in those ages 25-29 (2.6%), making it the #1 state for new graduates to start their career in 2020.