Considering how insanely expensive higher education is in the States, the least you can hope for after graduating college is getting a job, let alone one doing something you're passionate about. The harsh reality is, of course, earning a degree from even a top-notch school is hardly guaranteed to score you a gig out there in the big bad world, especially in light of a record low unemployment rate. And while your field of study has a lot to do with setting you up for success, where you graduate can also play a big part.

To help determine which schools earn top marks for turning out folks who successfully enter the job market, the team at career site Zippia consulted a bunch of data to identify the colleges whose graduates have the best record when it comes to finding employment a decade after graduation. Specifically, they looked at the US Department of Education's "College Scorecard" from 2017-2018 to check employment rate data for all higher education institutions from coast to coast, identified the ones with the highest placement rate in each state, then ranked the 10 best in the country.

As of 2019, Connecticut's Quinnipiac University has the best overall graduate employment rate in the country at 96.1%, followed by South Dakota's Augustana University (96.05%), with Ohio Northern University ranking third (95.86%). These are the schools that earned the top spot in each state.

Alabama: Auburn University

Alaska: University of Alaska Anchorage

Arizona: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott

Arkansas: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

California: Samuel Merritt University

Colorado: Colorado School of Mines

Connecticut: Quinnipiac University

Delaware: University of Delaware

Florida: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach

Georgia: Georgia Institute of Technology

Hawaii: Hawaii Pacific University

Idaho: The College of Idaho

Illinois: Bradley University

Indiana: Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology

Iowa: University of Dubuque

Kansas: Baker University

Kentucky: Georgetown College

Louisiana: Xavier University of Louisiana

Maine: University of New England

Maryland: Loyola University Maryland

Massachusetts: Western New England University

Michigan: Kettering University

Minnesota: Saint Johns University

Mississippi: University of Mississippi

Missouri: Culver-Stockton College

Montana: Montana State University

Nebraska: University of Nebraska Medical Center

Nevada: University of Nevada-Reno

New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire School of Law

New Jersey: The College of New Jersey

New Mexico: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

New York: Siena College

North Carolina: Elon University

North Dakota: University of North Dakota

Ohio: Ohio Northern University

Oklahoma: Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Oregon: University of Portland

Pennsylvania: Lebanon Valley College

Rhode Island: Providence College

South Carolina: Citadel Military College of South Carolina

South Dakota: Augustana University

Tennessee: Rhodes College

Texas: Trinity University

Utah: Westminster College

Vermont: Castleton University

Virginia: James Madison University

Washington: Gonzaga University

West Virginia: West Virginia Wesleyan College

Wisconsin: Marquette University

Wyoming: University of Wyoming