Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., is the top U.S. metropolitan area for college degree holders in their 20s, according to a study from payroll provider ADP.
ADP analyzed anonymized payroll data from more than 209,000 Americans ages 20-29 at more than 20,000 U.S. employers from January 2025 to January 2026, according to the analysis, which was published May 3. The study ranked 53 U.S. metropolitan areas with at least 1 million residents, grading them on wages, hiring and cost of living.
The metropolitan areas were ranked based on their combined percentile across annual wage estimates, nation-to-metro cost of living ratio, affordability-adjusted annual wage and hiring rates.
Below are the 10 top-ranked metropolitan areas, along with their combined percentile rank:
1. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. — 100
2. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. — 98
3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. — 96
4. Columbus, Ohio — 94
5. Raleigh, N.C. — 92
6. Tulsa, Okla. — 90
7. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. — 88
8. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. — 87
9. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C. — 85
10. New York City-Newark-Jersey City, N.J. — 83
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