ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria has been ranked the second-best mid-sized U.S. city for graduates starting their careers in 2026, according to an annual ranking published by CoworkingCafe, a coworking-space platform that also produces market research.
The ranking scores cities only against others in their population bracket. Among mid-sized cities — those with populations between 150,000 and 400,000 — Alexandria placed second, behind neighboring Arlington at No. 1. The report described Alexandria as the bracket’s biggest gainer, writing that it climbed four places on a roughly $7,600 increase in median graduate income, now near $94,000, and a five-percentage-point rise in degree attainment among young residents, to 62 percent. The study also credited a 7.5 percent share of local jobs suited to recent graduates and employer-based health coverage of about 71 percent.
In her daily video message to residents Monday, Mayor Alyia Gaskins spotlighted the result. “I wanted to share some good news, because honestly we could all use a lot more of it,” she said, summarizing the survey and the factors behind the ranking — the income gains, livability, health coverage, and city programs such as graduate internships and a new business accelerator for tech startups…