El Paso ranks 6th best city for millennials with student debt to start careers

El Paso has been ranked as the sixth best city for millennials with student debt to start their careers.

The ranking by RewardExpert says El Paso “has been recognized on a yearly basis for its lowest-in-the-nation crime rates for the past four years (one of the top three for a decade). As our sixth best metro for graduates with student and other debts to cut their teeth and pay down debt, safety is icing on the cake.”

“With lower than average median student debt of $14,715, and 41% of its workforce in industries requiring higher education, young professionals can take advantage of its very low housing costs (median gross rent $756, and median monthly housing costs for homeowners a low $971). Additionally, Texas does not impose a state income tax, enabling locals to allocate a larger chunk of their income to debt,” it said in a news release.

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Lubbock is the next closest ranked city in Texas at No. 32.

RewardExpert is a free service that helps users take advantage of their credit card points and travel rewards. It analyzed 207 cities and metropolitan areas based on 23 data indicators to come up with the results. The 23 data metrics were grouped into five categories: housing availability and costs; transportation infrastructure and transit access; availability and accessibility of jobs requiring a college degree or higher; tax rates; and local trends in debt and credit.

“Taking that big step into independence after graduation can be terrifying, particularly for grads leaving college burdened with student debt,” RewardExpert CEO and co-founder Roman Shteyn said in a news release. “There are so many decisions to be made, and choosing the right place to start a career can make a huge difference in taking the initial steps towards financial independence. Our ranking highlights locations in which college graduates face a favorable job market, housing market, business climate, and an overall environment where there are many opportunities to get ahead professionally and reduce debt quickly.”

The top three locations were:

Lincoln, Neb., which was cited for its low unemployment rate of 2.75 percent and transportation and housing costs, with an average gross rent of $698. Followed by La Crosse-Onalaska metropolitan area in Wisconsin and Minnesota, noted for millennials having 33 percent less credit card debt than the area average. And the Greater Milwaukee metropolitan area of Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis in Wisconsin, recognized for housing and transit access and affordability, a median rent of $740 and student debt in Milwaukee that was $1,072 lower than the national average.

Rated worst city and metropolitan area is Meridian, Miss., with an unemployment rate of 10 percent and a difficult job market, with millennials having an average credit score of 597 and an average credit utilization rate of 42 percent, according to RewardExpert.

“With the ever-increasing price of a higher education in the United States, students now graduate with more debt in student loans than ever before,” Shteyn said. “Merely a few decades ago, student loan balances were small enough to be repaid easily, and generally speaking, under less onerous terms. More than ever before it pays off to choose wisely when it comes to deciding where to start your career and your adult life.”

For more information, visit: rewardexpert.com/blog/studies/2018s-best-worst-cities-for-millennials-with-student-debt/.

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