WalletHub: Providence one of worst cities to start a career

PROVIDENCE RANKS 135TH worst in a ranking of the best and worst places to start a career, according to WalletHub. / COURTESY WALLETHUB
PROVIDENCE RANKS 135TH worst in a ranking of the best and worst places to start a career, according to WalletHub. / COURTESY WALLETHUB

PROVIDENCE – Providence is not the best place to start a career, according to the latest study by WalletHub.
The personal finance website said Providence ranked 135th worst on a list of the 150 largest cities in the U.S. Providence ranked even worse in the subcategory of professional opportunities at 142nd, but fared better in quality of life at 111th.
In comparison, the top five cities to start a career, in order, are: Salt Lake City; Denver; Austin, Texas; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Minneapolis.
Boston appeared on the list at 43rd. Worcester, Mass., was 110th. Last on the list was Detroit.

It also said Houston (ninth best on the list) had the highest monthly median starting salary (adjusted for cost of living) at $3,705, which is nearly three times higher than in Honolulu (68th overall), which was the lowest at $1,332.
WalletHub said it conducted the study to help recent college graduates find “the best cradles for their burgeoning careers.” It said it rated cities based on 17 metrics including: availability of entry-level jobs, median starting salary, annual job-growth rate, workforce diversity, jobless rate, median annual income and percentage of the population age 25 to 34.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Why do you keep publishing these Wallet Hub rankings? A consistently top rated food and tourism city is 111th in quality of life? Clearly they use a methodology that values nothing that New England or Providence have to offer. Your repeated highlighting of their criticisms only reinforces the undeserved Rhode Island inferiority complex. I suggest you abandon reporting these stories.

  2. Fully agree…while there are some weaknesses in the Providence Metro regarding a robust employment climate, the quality of life in Providence cannot possibly be lower than the top 10%…food, history, architecture, art, water quality, parks, culture.

    They are using inapplicable criteria.

    One note- it is Providence that is what is important here – not RI. RI is just part of the Providence Metro (RI & Sputheastern MA).

  3. Numbers speak truth, Don. Just because we are amazing in a few things doesn’t mean we can’t improve others. Providence is inexpensive compared to other cities, but when comparing it to itself, its quite costly for the average Rhode Islander. High taxes, inadequate/lack of housing / affordable housing, poor business climate, car ownership, higher than average college costs, etc. Its just the truth of the matter. These are not “criticisms” – these are cold, hard, facts. And the only way we can change them is to look at ourselves in the mirror and acknowledge our weaknesses. If we don’t know what we lack, then we can’t fix them.