The Portland metro is lagging when it comes to offering the best job opportunities for college graduates, according to a new study by payroll processor ADP.
The big picture: While the region’s job market offers relatively strong wages, it has one of the slowest hiring rates and the cost of living is high, the study showed.
What they found: Researchers analyzed anonymized payroll data from more than 20,000 U.S. employers across 53 U.S. metro areas with populations of at least 1 million.
- Fast-growing Southern metros like Birmingham, Alabama, and Tampa Bay, Florida, topped the list, while Portland; San Diego; Riverside, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah, landed at the bottom.
By the numbers: The average annual wage estimate for graduates with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent aged 20 to 29 in Portland is $53,800, per ADP.
- By comparison, a living wage for an adult with no children in Portland is considered to be about $58,600 according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator.
Still, Portland has seen a rise in college graduates living here, and recent income data shows that degrees pay off locally…