For recent grads and others just starting their career path, it can be overwhelming to figure out next steps. When transitioning from school to real world experience, college grads have the opportunity to make some big decisions like relocating to pursue career goals, but there are some areas that provide more opportunity than others.

2016's Best Cities To Start A Career

To determine which cities are best areas to launch a career, WalletHub, a personal finance website, analyzed key factors that are important to new young professionals. Looking at the top 150 most populated cities, WalletHub ranked each city based on scores given for two key dimensions: quality of life and professional opportunity factors. Reviewing factors like social opportunities, job prospects, pay potential, career advancement, and unemployment rate, WalletHub was able to determine the strength of the job market and social ties. (Read more on the methodology here.)

Looking at the top 10 cities to launch a career, Texas dominated the list with 4 different areas ranking well in both quality of life and professional opportunity factors. If you’re a new grad or someone looking to start your career, here are the cities that are considered the best areas to start your career via WalletHub.

  1. Salt Lake City, UT
  2. Denver, CO
  3. Austin, TX
  4. Sioux Falls, SD
  5. Minneapolis, MN
  6. Raleigh, NC
  7. Oklahoma City, OK
  8. Amarillo, TX
  9. Houston, TX
  10. Corpus Christi, TX