{"id":5206,"date":"2026-07-22T23:06:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2026-07-22T23:06:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:06:02","slug":"these-6-nc-cities-rank-among-the-best-places-for-new-college-grads-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5206","title":{"rendered":"These 6 NC cities rank among the best places for new college grads to live"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Six of the nation\u2019s best cities for recent college graduates are in North Carolina, a new report finds.<\/p>\n

Read more Lisa Barlow Shares Pic With Husband John Amid ‘RHOSLC’ Separations<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the state is packed with places offering job opportunities and attractions<\/a> that appeal to people who just finished their degrees, according to results published in June. Here\u2019s how the cities fared in the top 25 on lists from the workplace-focused website CoworkingCafe<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the class of 2026 entering a job market shaped by uneven hiring, AI-driven skill shifts and rising competition for entry-level roles, the study looks at where new grads have the strongest mix of jobs, income, affordability, benefits, lifestyle amenities and coworking access,\u201d CoworkingCafe wrote in a news release.<\/p>\n

To determine the top places for people to launch their careers, CoworkingCafe said it studied more than 300 cities across the country. Using data from the U.S. government, it scored each place in the following three categories: employment, financial and lifestyle. It also sorted cities into these population groups:<\/p>\n

Of the North Carolina cities<\/a> that received nods, Cary<\/b> was the only place to break into the top 10. The town \u2014 just west of Raleigh \u2014 is home to about 183,000 people.<\/p>\n

Cary ranked high as CoworkingCafe said it offered \u201crecent grads a strong earning outlook with median graduate income approaching $90,000\u201d and costs \u201croughly 2% below the national average.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cary and fellow mid-sized city Durham<\/b> also made their marks when it came to having residents ages 18 to 34 who went to college. In both places, CoworkingCafe found just over half of young adults have earned a bachelor\u2019s degree or higher. But that factor didn\u2019t drive all of North Carolina’s success in the rankings.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding North Carolina\u2019s strong showing, the results suggest that its cities generally performed well across a combination of employment, education, health coverage and lifestyle indicators, although the specific strengths varied by city,\u201d a CoworkingCafe spokesperson told The N&O via email.<\/p>\n

Read more James Leutze, who taught at UNC and then helped shape UNCW, dies at 90<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, Charlotte<\/b> had a 3.6% unemployment rate among residents ages 20 to 29, the fourth-lowest rate in its population category. Raleigh<\/b> also performed well for employer-based health insurance coverage, with 69.1% of residents ages 19 to 34 covered through an employer, ranking third in its category.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to smaller North Carolina cities, quality-of-life factors stood out. Both Asheville<\/b> and Wilmington<\/b> ranked in the top 10 in their population group for the number of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues per 100,000 residents, results show.<\/p>\n

Across population sizes, other North Carolina cities landed outside the top 25. Here\u2019s where those cities placed in the rankings:<\/p>\n

If you still want to reminisce about campus life after graduation, North Carolina is home to some top-ranked places<\/a> to visit. Earlier this year, Boone and Chapel Hill both were named among the South\u2019s best college towns<\/a> and the nation\u2019s most underrated college towns, The News & Observer previously reported.<\/p>\n

On the latest lists from CoworkingCafe, here are the places that earned the top spots for each population size:<\/p>\n

Questions about life in North Carolina? Or have a tip or story idea you\u2019d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Read more Durham clears downtown encampment, in push to make homelessness \u2018rare and brief\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your question by filling out this form<\/a><\/b>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where\u2019s the best place to start a career? Charlotte, Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Wilmington and Asheville, North Carolina make lists of top cities to live in US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nThese 6 NC cities rank among the best places for new college grads to live - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5206\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"These 6 NC cities rank among the best places for new college grads to live - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where\u2019s the best place to start a career? 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