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- The best US cities for high-paying entry-level jobs include Bozeman, Iowa, and Jackson.
- The average salary for entry-level roles in the US is $40,153, according to Indeed data.
- Some college graduates had high expectations and believed they'd make six figures in their first job.
Fresh graduates on the hunt for highly-paid jobs will find that Bozeman, Iowa, and Jackson offer some of the best rates, according to a new study.
Resume.io, a résumé building platform, published a study in June of how many entry-level job listings had a salary above the median wage for all 50 US states and 223 major cities using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and job site Indeed.com.
Resume.io found that 87.8% of entry-level roles listed in Bozeman, Montana offered a salary above the state's median wage.
Around 87.7% of entry-level roles were above the average wage in Iowa City, Iowa; 84.8% in Jackson, Mississippi; and 83.1% in Kansas. California cities San Francisco and Oakland also boast above-average salaries in just over 77% of jobs.
Meanwhile, the cities that ranked worst for highly paid entry-level roles included Washington, DC at 26.4%; Honolulu, Hawaii at 36.4%, and Virginia Beach, Virginia at 38.6%.
The states that ranked highest for well-paid entry-level jobs were South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Iowa.
College graduates have high expectations for their first jobs and have their sights set on lucrative careers and opportunities. Many 2022 graduates believed they would be making $103,880, according to Real Estate Witch data reported by CNBC.
They're in for a shock as entry-level jobs in the US pay $40,153 on average, according to Indeed.
Although California cities like tech hub San Francisco or Oakland seem like a safe bet for well-paid jobs, the high cost of living is likely to eat into new graduates' salaries.