Overall, tech hubs, despite being some of the costliest places to live, provide great incomes for those with graduate degrees. Some of America’s most historic cities, such as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., feature high percentages of the population that already hold graduate degrees and have high arts and leisure scores. Taken together, those factors propel those cities to high finishes, beating out the tech hub of Seattle, as well as the traditional business hub of America: New York City. When factoring together all the criteria, from local culture to income to cost of living, unemployment rate, quality of life and more, California often tops the charts as the most worthwhile option.
Regardless of the city you choose, if you’re pursuing a PhD or have already earned one, don’t make the decision lightly. Analyzing these considerations can go a long way to set you up for success after your degree program. GCU offers a number of PhD programs through our College of Doctoral Studies in counselor education and general psychology. No matter which one you choose, you will be led by faculty that will guide you every step of the way. In your residency, you’ll be able to collaborate with peers and faculty where you can receive face-to-face sessions and the resources you need to help further develop your dissertation.
City Ranking Factors, Weights and Data Sources:
1 Unemployment Rate (factor weight: 2.00) - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2020 Unemployment Report. Retrieved February 2021. > link to https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm
2 Livability Score (factor weight: 2.50) - AARP Livability Index Report, Published June 2018. Retrieved January 2021.
3 Cost of Living (factor weight: 2.50) - NerdWallet Cost of Living Calculator, Data Retrieved January 2021.
4 Median Salary for Graduate Degree Holders (factor weight: 3.00) - U.S. Census, 2019 Data. Retrieved January 2021.
The earnings referenced were reported by the United States Census Bureau. They are not calculated using wages from GCU graduates but from workers across the country with varying levels of education and experience, and they reflect a national average for this occupation in 2019. This national data may not accurately reflect earnings of workers in particular parts of the country and include earners at all stages of their career and not solely entry level wages.
COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 may be atypical compared to prior years. The pandemic may impact the predicted future workforce outcomes indicated by the United States Census Bureau as well. Accordingly, data shown is based on the 2019 calendar year.
5 Percent More Graduate Degree Holders Make Compared to Average Population (factor weight: 3.25) - U.S. Census, 2019 Data. Retrieved January 2021.
6 Percent of the Population Over Age 25 With Graduate Degrees (factor weight: 2.75) - U.S. Census, 2019 Data. Retrieved January 2021.
7 Arts Score (factor weight: 2.00)- 2020 Arts Vibrancy Map produced by Southern Methodist University, county level data. Data retrieved February 2021.
8 Leisure Score (factor weight: 2.00) - 2020 Arts Vibrancy Map produced by Southern Methodist University, county level data. Data retrieved February 2021.