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It’s like an unspoken thing in millennial culture (or every generation for that matter) that once you finish school, the best places to start your life and get a good job is New York City or Los Angeles. Whether you’re an aspiring actress or a veteran bartender, NY and LA have been force fed to us as the only places to make a cool, fun living in America.

Sure, both luxury cities have much to offer — and require lots of sacrifice to maintain a good lifestyle — but there are other places on the map for millennials to thrive, personally and professionally. Commercial Cafe conducted a study in which they ranked metro areas for millennials based on seven factors related to employment. The results were quite shocking.

“Each area was ranked in seven categories to determine a total score: Millennial population growth between 2014 and 2018, millennial population share, regional price parity (a cost-of-living comparison in which a score of 100 represents the national average), millennial unemployment rate, the share of millennials with employer-based health insurance, the share of working millennials with a bachelor’s degree, and average commuting time.” – New York Times

According to the study, “Denver topped the list, with its low unemployment and high millennial population growth rate offsetting its higher cost of living and relatively high average commuting time (28 minutes).”

Hit the flip to see which other formerly sleepy cities made the cut.

1.Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.

13% millennial population growth, 2014-18 • 3% millennial unemployment rate

2. Austin-Round Rock, Texas

17% millennial population share • 40% working millennials with a bachelor’s degree

3. Raleigh, N.C.

41% working millennials with a bachelor’s degree • 2% millennial unemployment rate

4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

14% millennial population growth, 2014-18

5. Salt Lake City

23 minutes commuting time • 16% millennial population share

6. Columbus, Ohio

24 min. commuting time • 16% millennial population share

7. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.

22 min. commuting time • 69% millennials with employer-based health insurance

8. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.

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11% millennial population, growth 2014-18 • 4% millennial unemployment rate

9. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore./Wash.

27 min. commuting time • 102 regional price parity score

10. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

131 regional price parity score • 40% working millennials with a bachelor’s degree

Imma Head Out: New Study Claims THESE Are The Best Cities For Millennials To Live And Work  was originally published on globalgrind.com