- Students say California has the best quality of life, but New York City is the most popular destination.
- 45% of Hispanic students and 40% of Asian students want to move west vs. 29% of white students and 23% of black students.
- After graduation, more students would prefer to live in a suburb of a big city rather than downtown (31% vs. 18%).
As college graduates decide where to start the next chapter of their lives, big cities on the East and West Coasts will likely gain some new residents.
A new survey of 2,000 undergraduates found that most students want to move to the West or the Northeast after graduation. Three in 10 (32%) students want to move out west, while 29% want to move to the Northeast. Fewer students report wanting to move to the South (21%) or Midwest (18%) after graduation.
Hispanic and Asian students are more likely than other students to want to live in the West after graduation. While 45% of Hispanic students and 40% of Asian students say they want to move west, less than one-third (29%) of white students and about one-quarter (23%) of black students say the same.
Black students are more likely than their white peers to want to live in the South (35% vs. 19%). And white students are more likely to want to live in the Midwest (20% vs. 13%).
Despite stereotypes of urban-dwelling college graduates, most students prefer the suburbs. Only 18% of students say they want to live downtown in a large city, while 31% want to live in a suburb of a large city. Less than one-quarter want to live in a suburb of a medium-sized city (23%), downtown in a medium-sized city (15%), or in a small city (9%).
Most College Students Prefer to Live in the Suburbs
What type of place would you most like to live in after graduation?
The most popular post-graduation destinations include a number of major cities, however. Half the cities in students’ top 10 destinations are in the western United States, yet New York City and Boston are the most favored. Los Angeles comes in third, followed by Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Denver, and Chicago.
When it comes to quality of life, students say California has the most to offer out of all 50 states, followed by Colorado and Texas. More than 3 in 10 Asian (35%) and Hispanic (31%) students say California has the best quality of life, compared to 14% of white students and 16% of black students. Meanwhile, white students are more likely than their peers to say Colorado offers the best quality of life (14% vs. 1% of Asian students, 3% of black students, and 7% of Hispanic students).
Students Say California Has the Best Quality of Life
Which state offers the best quality of life?
Job prospects carry the most weight for students when choosing a new city. Almost two-thirds (65%) say potential employment opportunities are the most important factor when choosing where to live after graduation, while 14% say it’s the cost of living and 12% say it’s proximity to family and friends.
Finally, half (50%) of students say they would like to live near where they grew up if that were possible. There are stark differences among students by race and ethnic background, though. Half of white students (51%) and a solid majority of Asian (56%) and Hispanic (60%) students would prefer to live close to where they grew up. In contrast, only 37% of black students say the same.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of 2,000 full-time and part-time students attending four-year colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
