Here are the cities where college graduates have the best chance of landing a job — and NYC is not one of them

You’re hired.

These days, Gen Z has more demands — beyond salary and health insurance — than other generations when it comes to finding a job after graduating from college.

And there are certain cities, aside from major ones like NYC and Los Angeles, where they’re surprisingly finding jobs that meet their long list of requirements.

Second-tier cities like Raleigh, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Baltimore, Maryland and Austin, Texas, stand out for what they can offer recent college grads — a strong job market and a decent salary, according to a new study by ADP.

To come up with these findings, ADP analyzed payroll data of over 140,000 employees aged 20-29 from January 2019 through April 2025.

The team then looked at the annual wages, hiring rates and affordability of 55 different metro areas throughout the U.S.

The study’s findings showed that these underrated cities have a higher-than-usual concentration of technology, health and financial firms, says Ben Hanowell, ADP Research’s director of people analytics.

And for those youngsters who don’t live in one of these cities — nor plan to move there, experts feel that in order to stand out amongst the rest when applying for jobs — Gen Z should learn how to use AI to their advantage.

“AI is rapidly reshaping entry-level jobs, automating repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, and, in some cases, eliminating roles entirely,” Keri Mesropov, founder of Spring Talent Development, told Newsweek.

On that note, Gen Zers are being told to adapt to using AI technology since it’s becoming a powerful tool being used in not only everyday work — but also everyday life.

In addition to trying to adapt to using new technology to land a job — the generation born between 1997 and 2012 is leading the way in exaggerating or lying on their job applications.

Career services platform, career.io, found that almost half of Gen Zers have admitted to fibbing to get employers to notice them. Millennials aren’t totally innocent, as 38.5% of them have done this, while 20.4% of Gen Xers have also followed suit.

“You hear so much of people complaining about this big resume hole their applications have fallen into, and it’s out of sheer desperation that they’re trying to enhance their experience in a way that will hopefully land them at least that interview,” certified professional career coach, Amanda Augustine, told Fox News Digital.