The city once called “God’s waiting room” is now a destination for millennials.
A recent study done by credit card company NerdWallet ranked St.Petersburg as the No. 1 city in Florida for “millennial job seekers.” The analysis was done on 93 cities in Florida with a population of at least 20,000, according to NerdWallet’s website. All of the cities that landed in the top 10, however, had populations more than 100,000.
The study took four factors into consideration: number of jobs, salaries, rent and the number of other millennials living there.
NerdWallet’s research concluded that the millennial population, ages 20 to 34, had increased 6 percent in the last five years in St. Petersburg. The city “is home to a thriving economy with the average payroll salary of $47,471, which is $13,500 more than the average across the 93 cities analyzed,” NerdWallet said. The average rent of people residing in St. Petersburg is $924.
St. Petersburg’s “thriving economy” is greatly influenced by the downtown area, which is full of restaurants, bars, breweries and shops. The city is also home to giant headquarters, such as Raymond James Financial.
Tampa fell close behind St. Petersburg as the top city for millennial job seekers, landing in third place.
“Thanks in part to the University of South Florida, Tampa has a strong millennial presence that grew seven percent from 2010 to 2013, and now is 24 percent of the population,” said NerdWallet.
Although the unemployment rate is decreasing, the younger generation’s unemployment rate is still relatively high. The unemployment rate of 20 to 34 year olds was 9.3 percent in 2013 according to a report from Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Top 10 Cities in Florida for Millennials in search of a job
- St. Petersburg
- Palm Bay
- Tampa
- Jacksonville
- Miami
- Gainesville
- Winter Park
- Boca Raton
- Fort Lauderdale
- Palm Beach Gardens
Information gathered from NerdWallet.com and Tampabay.com
