Every time I think about the fact that I have entered upper-classman status a wave of nausea washes over me. The stresses of graduating are usually centered on finding a job, and a large key of finding a job you love is finding a location you love. Many popular cities for public relations include Manhattan and Los Angeles, and are a bit out of entry-level job price range. However, the number of cities with a growing public relations job market happen to also be affordable and have a low unemployment rate.
East – Washington, D.C.
Although this city is much more costly compared to other cities in the United States, public relations’ salaries make up for it. Annual pay for a PR pro is actually twice as high as the national average. The job market for public relations workers is the second highest in the country, second to the one and only NYC. When considering moving to the U.S.’s capital, make sure you’re not adverse to enter the political field since it makes up most PR jobs.
West – Sacramento, CA
While California has a reputation of being one of the most expensive states, Sacramento is surprisingly less costly than other Cali cities. There are a variety of PR jobs in the area ranging from entertainment to healthcare. California is also home to numerous amounts of companies that are mentioned in Forbes’ 100 Best Companies list. While west coast life can be a little fast paced, Sacramento is a smaller and more down to earth location.
Midwest – Madison, WI
Get your cheese head on and get ready for some cold winters! Despite it’s northern location (and obvious freezing temperatures) Madison is increasingly driving many young professionals to it. This city beat out many other big names cities in salary, and due to its location and little known charm has a very low cost of living. Madison also has one of the largest chapters of PRSA in the country, making networking and finding work easy as cheesecake.
South – Austin, TX
Unlike most other Texas cities, Austin is a diverse metropolis and surprisingly scenic for being landlocked. For all of you social media buffs and music junkies, this city has got what you need. Not to mention, in 2011 it was picked by Kiplinger to be the best city to live in for the next ten years. That’s right now! Although it does not have the highest salary to cost of living ratio it is one of the top cities to live in, especially for new grads.
Even if these cities aren’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other cities that have a rising rate of PR jobs. And if the states aren’t for you, Toronto, London and Sofia, Bulgaria are also known to be growing cities for PR pros! But don’t stress out too much about moving away to a big city after college, there are some great opportunities not too far from Ohio University as well.
Morgan is a Junior studying Strategic Communications with a minor in French and a Visual Communications specialization. Follow her on twitter at @morganbren!