If you're looking for young, educated workers, check out these metro areas, where the post-collegiate set gathers.
| Rank | Metro area | % of population age 25-34 with bachelor's degree | Average hourly wage | | 1 | Ithaca, NY | 68.7% | $21.13 | | 2 | Ames, IA | 60.4% | $19.44 | | 3 | Ann Arbor, MI | 58.3% | $23.5 | | 4 | Boulder, CO | 55% | $25.5 | | 5 | Iowa City, IA | 54.6% | $18.72 | | 6 | State College, PA | 53.7% | $19.03 | | 7 | Charlottesville, VA | 53.3% | $20.47 | | 8 | Columbia, MO | 52.6% | $17.6 | | 9 | Champaign, IL | 52.1% | $20.77 | | 10 | Boston, MA | 50.9% | $25.81 | | 11 | Bloomington, IL | 48.7% | $21.19 | | 12 | Madison, WI | 48.5% | $20.65 | | 13 | Durham, NC | 47.1% | $23.48 | | 14 | Washington, DC | 46.8% | $27.44 | | 15 | Corvallis, OR | 46.1% | $19.25 | | 16 | Gainesville, FL | 45.6% | $18.45 | | 17 | San Francisco, CA | 45.6% | $27.31 | | 18 | San Jose, CA | 44.7% | $30.92 | | 19 | Lawrence, KS | 43.7% | $16.99 | | 20 | Burlington, VT | 43.7% | $20.89 | | 21 | Fort Collins, CO | 43.6% | $20.19 | | 22 | Raleigh, NC | 43.4% | $20.27 | | 23 | Bridgeport, CT | 41.8% | $26.52 | | 24 | Lafayette, IN | 41.6% | $18.1 | | 25 | New York City, NY | 41.6% | $25.39 |
|
|
Tell us why: Low taxes? Talented workers? An active small business community? Send us your photos and videos, and you could be featured in our upcoming coverage of reader-picked Best Places to Launch. More
