Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, Minn., is known for its many shops and restaurants.

UPDATE: Check out our new 2023 Best Cities to Live in the U.S. list.

#5. Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minn., attracts young job seekers by offering a highly active lifestyle, robust music scene, stable economy, high wages and affordable rental properties. Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes, while Minneapolis is known for its many parks and trails that encourage physical fitness. When it comes to keeping residents engaged in healthy pursuits, few cities compare to Minneapolis, where more than 80 percent of the city’s residents get in at least 30 minutes of activity per day. Bikers, walkers and rollerbladers cruise along shoreline paths, and about 13 percent of Minneapolis residents use public transportation to get to work.

Recent college grads find it easy to fit into social circles as there are more than 82,000 residents here between the ages of 25 and 34. Finding an apartment or rental property is relatively easy as more than 50 percent of homes in Minneapolis are rentals and roughly 5 percent of them are unoccupied. The majority of Minneapolis residents spend less than 30 percent of their annual income on housing, leaving them with plenty of money to spend on the city’s vast entertainment options.

Those options include attending professional sporting events, including football, baseball, hockey and basketball. New residents are often surprised by how much music there is to enjoy in the city. In fact, there’s so much music here that we named Minneapolis one of the Top 10 Cities With the Best Music Scenes Outside of Nashville, NYC and LA. Venues ranging from country bars and orchestra halls to rock clubs and concert spaces provide a variety of ear-pleasing sounds. The city’s culinary scene continues to grow and get more notoriety. Last year, four local chefs were nominated for the James Beard Award, which is among the highest honors in cooking.

Snapshot

Number of 25- to 34-year-olds: 82,129

*Number of available jobs: 37,906

Hot jobs: Retail, marketing, banking

Top employers: Target, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp

*According to Indeed.com

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