By John S Kiernan, WalletHub — The struggles endured in recent years by America’s young people pale in comparison to those suffered by their peers in Spain and Greece, where nearly half of all young people are jobless. Still, finding employment in the U.S. — let alone laying the foundation for a long and prosperous career — is far from simple.

But there’s reason for optimism among the Class of 2016 and the scores of young people so disillusioned with the job market that they’ve given up their search for employment. Not only do more employers plan to hire recent college grads in 2016, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, but hiring in general is also on the rise.

Increased hiring obviously doesn’t guarantee employment, though. Young people still must learn how to maximize their marketability. In addition to customizing cover letters and making social media accounts safe for work, that could very well entail relocation. After all, employment opportunities vary significantly based on simple geography.

So, in order to help recent college graduates find the best cradles for their burgeoning careers, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 largest U.S. cities. We used 17 key metrics to determine the relative strength of their job markets as well as the attractiveness of their social scenes and other factors important to job-market entrants. A complete breakdown of our findings, a detailed methodology and expert financial-management tips for young people can be found below.

 

Rankings:

 

1. Salt Lake City 

2. Denver

3. Austin

4. Sioux Falls, SD

5. Minneapolis 

6. Raleigh, NC

7. Oklahoma City

8. Amarillo, TX

9. Houston

10. Corpus Christi, TX