Recently, SmartAsset put forth their fifth edition of the 25 best cities for college graduates and the Buckeye State is well-represented on the list. Cincinnati is the top-ranked city for new college graduates, Columbus is the third best, and Cleveland sits at 20.

The study looks at jobs, fun, and affordability. The job score includes the overall unemployment rate, the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree, average earnings for college graduates and the number of job listings on Indeed. To measure fun, they looked at the concentration of entertainment and dining establishments, the percentage of the population between the ages of 20 and 29, the average Yelp rating for bars in the area and the average Yelp rating for restaurants in the area. And lastly, as it relates to affordability, the study considers cost of living and monthly median rent costs.

In Ohio, we are trying to attract new talent and retain the talent currently in our state. In fact, part of the Ohio Chamber’s Public Policy Agenda as it relates to education and workforce development is, “Pursue programs aimed at keeping the best and brightest in Ohio.” While this study does not specifically speak to any programs that have caused Ohio to have three cities in the top twenty-five, it certainly bodes well moving forward for our state to already have some built-in advantages over other states as we pursue various public policy initiatives for talent attraction and retention.

This study shows that, based off SmartAsset’s methodology, the Midwest is beating out the East and West coasts as a better option for new college graduates. More specifically, it is great news for Ohio to have three of their cities in the top twenty-five and two of those cities in the top three. This can only help our cause as we move forward in our effort to attract new talent to the state and keep the already existing talent.