According to a new Wallet Hub study, there is good news for 2025 graduates from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Employers are eager to hire graduates and plan to hire 7.3% more graduates from this year's class than they did from the 2024 graduating class.

That would seem to bode well for anyone looking to start a career that can be equal parts excitement and anxiety. But as with many things in life, your location, or being in the right place at the right time, can make all the difference.

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How did Wallet Hub come up with these results?

Wallet Hub studied the 180 largest cities in the country in terms of which ones are better than others for starting a career.

South Dakota has two cities that are good choices when you're looking to start a number of different careers: Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

Rapid City placed 74th, but it was noted that it also has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Sioux Falls placed higher at 41st, with abundant opportunities for job seekers.

What situations make one city better than another to start a career?

Wallet Hub gathered information in two basic categories: A) Professional Opportunities and B) Quality of Life.

Within those categories, they considered things like the availability of entry-level jobs, annual job growth rates, monthly average starting salaries, unemployment and job satisfaction rates, and entrepreneur friendliness. 

They also compared the average length of workweeks, commute times, projected population growth, housing affordability, and fun, family, and singles-friendliness.

So, as you can guess, Rapid City and Sioux Falls showed up pretty well in all those areas to make this list.

Read more: Ten Safest and Family-Friendly South Dakota Cities

To see the complete report, just go to Wallet Hub's study of the Best and Worst Places to Start a Career.

Source: Wallet Hub