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Gen Y Report: Head (North)West, Gen Y!

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PayScale’s "Gen Y on the Job” report reveals
Millennials’ best job and employer options, favorite cities, top job skills,
common degrees and more. Today we look at the report to find the best metro area for
Gen Y workers who are looking to build strong careers in an exciting city.

Seattle Shines

Out of the twenty largest metro areas in the U.S., Seattle came out on top for
Gen Y workers
.The Rainy City boasts strong wage growth, with a 4.4 percent
increase between Q2 2009 and Q2 2012. In addition, they have a high median pay
for Gen Y workers at $44,000 and a strong presence of tech firms, including
Microsoft, which was ranked as a top employer for Gen Y. 

After Seattle, the next top metro in the study was
Houston, followed by Minneapolis, Washington DC and Boston. San Francisco has
the highest median pay for Gen Y at $51,300 and Riverside, CA had the lowest
pay at $33,800. New York suffered from having the longest commute time for Gen
Y at 30.6 minutes and Riverside had the shortest at 20 minutes. Washington DC
has the highest percentage of Gen Y employees at 26 percent, while Tampa has
the lowest at 19 percent.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

Technology and Caffeine

Why is Seattle such a great place for Gen Y? The Emerald City is a
center for big business and entrepreneurship. What makes this metro different
is that both big businesses and entrepreneurs support each other and are
connected. Gen Y is all about entrepreneurship, as we found in the Gen Y report,
and they are also keen on working for technology companies, many of which are
in Seattle.

Seattle is home to several major brand name companies including
Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks. Seattle is known for not just
information technology, but biotechnology companies, traditional manufacturers,
up-and-coming businesses and other industries.

Small Business Support

Seattle's Office
For Economic Development
supports entrepreneurs by providing them access to
local resources to help launch businesses. The OED reported this year that
Seattle had 4,700 new business licenses and only 13 percent total closures in
2011. The total number of businesses in Seattle increased from 2011 to 2013 by
10.5 percent (400 companies).

Seattle is also known for having more casual work
environments, unlike New York City and other metros.  With Seattle's innovation economy and high
wage growth, it's no wonder why Gen Y wants to work there. Since Seattle's economy
is growing fast, and companies are actively hiring, it's a clear signal to Gen
Y that it's a great place to grow a career. This is especially true because Gen
Y is the most underemployed generation. Furthermore, the popular Gen Y majors
of science and entrepreneurship match up well with Seattle's business
environment.

Affordable Fun

Gen Y is also drawn to Seattle because of the city’s reasonable cost of
living. It's 30 percent lower than San Francisco and 23 percent less than San
Jose, reports
Kiplinger's
. Seattle attracts Gen Y because they are trying to save money,
pay back student loans and a lot of them have retail jobs that don't support
luxury lifestyles. Another study
by timeRAZOR
shows that there are over 6,000 restaurants in the city. With
an active lifestyle and a strong business community, it’s not surprising to see
Gen Y flocking to the Emerald City.

More From PayScale

Gen Y Kids are Nerdy Go-Getters

Gen Y Prefers Small Employers

Gen Y Needs to Pick Up the Phone


Space needle dog
(Photo Credit: Alida Moore and Moo)


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