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Houston tops Forbes rankings for college grads

 
The home of Rice University has topped another best cities list.

With the low cost of living, booming industries and a high average starting salary, Houston has nabbed the No. 1 spot on the Forbes list of best cities for recent college grads. The metropolitan area also recently topped Kiplingler’s Personal Finance magazine as the best city in which to live and work.
 
Houston’s thriving economy and job growth places Rice students in a market on the upswing. By attending the Houston-based university, students are able to experience what the nation’s fourth-largest city has to offer and network with some of the country’s most powerful industries in science and technology.
 
"We tell students to look at a city's fit," Rice career counselor Jackie Hing told Forbes. "In general, industry is going to limit your options."
 
Forbes examined 40 major metropolitan areas in its report, building its rankings off a number of factors. Houston received high marks because, according to the report, the city ranked third nationally in job growth and second in average starting salary for college grads. Graduates are earning an average of $44,000 in Houston, behind only San Francisco.
 
The report also noted that the demand for science and technical degrees in Houston has recruited so many college graduates to the city that people in their 20s make up nearly a quarter of the city’s population.
 
As Houston continues to expand and thrive, Rice students can look forward to graduating in a growing market.
 
“You want two to three years for a first professional job," Hing told Forbes. "That's a reasonable time to spend to get know what a city and a job are all about."