Ranking the Cities With the Greatest National Appeal to College Graduates
In 2018 the Wall Street Journal published this piece that examined where graduates from top colleges move after they finish college.
It illustrated how few cities in the United States truly attract national talent, and why companies like Amazon that hope to attract 99th percentile national talent, focus exclusively on the cities with national reach.
It also illustrated that the evolution of many up-and-coming cities is being fueled not by their increased standing in the national consciousness, but because they are attracting greater numbers of graduates from within their own states, often at the expense of other nearby cities. Booming cities like Raleigh, Austin, Indianapolis and Columbus, for instance, are gaining population from predominately within their own states, in contrast to cities whose growth truly reflects national appeal. They are local capitals, but have not yet advanced to a truly national standing.
Tier 1: Elite Global and National Leaders in Attracting Top Graduates
Cities whose draw from top graduates of elite colleges is genuinely as strong nationally and globally as it is regionally:
New York City
Los Angeles
Washington, DC
Chicago
San Francisco
Tier 2: Established National Leaders in Attracting Top Graduates
Cities that draw from a national spectrum of top graduates with a preponderance coming from within their own regions:
Boston
Dallas
Seattle
Atlanta
Houston
Denver
Tier 3: Emergent National Leaders in Attracting Top Graduates
Cities that draw from a large regional collection of colleges but which have not yet established a broadly national draw:
Miami
Portland, OR
Phoenix
Philadelphia
Tier 4: Regional Leaders in Attracting Top Graduates
Cities that draw from a large collection of mostly colleges within one state of where they are located:
Charlotte
Nashville
Austin
Minneapolis
San Diego
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Kansas City
Tier 5: State Leaders in Attracting Top Graduates
Cities that draw from a large collection of mostly colleges within their own state:
San Antonio
Indianapolis
Baltimore
Detroit
New Orleans
Pittsburgh
Memphis
Birmingham
Greenville
Tampa
Richmond
Providence
Orlando
Columbus
Cleveland
Louisville
Raleigh
Virginia Beach
Sacramento
San Jose
Hartford
Rochester
Tier 6: Local Destinations for Top Graduates
Cities that draw from fewer than 10 colleges, all located within their own state:
Jacksonville
Salt Lake City
Milwaukee
Riverside
Buffalo
Des Moines
Portland, ME
Grand Rapids
Omaha
Jackson
Little Rock
Burlington
Tulsa
Sioux Falls
Las Vegas
Boise
Wichita
Oklahoma City
Albuquerque
Tucson
Fargo
Charleston
Billings
Honolulu
Cheyenne
Contact Capital Frontiers at: