New England is a haven for workers straight out of college, with a study finding Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire are the best states to move right after graduating

• College graduates just starting out in their careers should consider moving to New England.
• Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire were the top US states for young grads, a new analysis found.

Young graduates fresh out of college and entering the professional world will find that Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire are the best states to establish their careers, according to a recent analysis by Scholaroo.

Scholaroo analyzed all 50 US states using publicly available data to compare them on the job market and work conditions, affordability, crime and safety, workplace diversity, and health and leisure.

The 10 states that ranked top overall were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, Washington, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oregon. Meanwhile, New York ranked 16th and California 24th. Southern states including Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia brought up the rear of the list.

Massachusetts topped the list because it ranked highly on job market and work conditions, diversity at work, and crime and safety, but lagged on affordability.

Massachusetts is ripe with opportunities for professionals and has a hiring rate of 7.9% and an average salary of $50,182 after living costs for young job seekers, data published by payroll solutions firms Gusto in May showed. This can rise to an average salary of $76,600, the highest across US states in 2023, according to Forbes.

The states with the highest number of entry-level job opportunities were North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Virginia, according to the Scholaroo data.

Meanwhile, Vermont, New York, California, Rhode Island, and Maryland ranked top for the lowest gender pay gap.

The data also took into account living conditions like robberies and the number of restaurants a state has. The lowest number of robberies were in Idaho, Vermont, Wyoming, Maine, and North Dakota.

The states with the highest number of restaurants and bars were Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, New York, and Oregon.

New York and California also ranked top for highest average salaries across states at $74,870 and $73,220 respectively, per Forbes, but much of worker's wages will be eaten by the high cost of living.