College students spend four or more years anxiously anticipating the day they receive their degree. When the time comes to live in the real world, the challenge sinks in.

By ranking national cities, a study by [Apartments.com](www.apartments.com) and [CareerRookie.com](careerrookie.com) aims to help recent graduates with finding a place to live, one of the most difficult first steps for young professionals.

According to the study, the top 10 cities are Hartford/New Haven, Conn., Cleveland, Boston, Denver and Minneapolis, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta and St. Louis.

The study comes at a time when job competition among young adults is fierce and the cost of living continues to increase.

“We issued our list as a resource to help them make informed decisions on the best places to live based on job availability and cost of living,” Apartments.com spokeswoman Tammy Kotula said in a news release.

According to the news release, the results are based on cities with the highest concentration of young adults ages 20-24 from 2010 census results. Other factors included CareerRookie.com’s inventory of jobs requiring less than one year of experience and the average cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment from Apartments.com data.

The study comes at a time when renters are moving at three times the rate of last year in order to find new job opportunities, Kotula said in the news release.

The latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau report the United States unemployment rate at 9.1 percent. This unemployment number is higher for recent college graduates, according to most measures.

MU senior Ashton Barker, who will be graduating in December, said she would prefer to move to a suburban area with at least a minor league sports affiliate to meet her love of sports, but this preference comes secondary to her main goal.

“I will move wherever I can find a good job,” Barker said.

Barker said she only takes into account studies like this one if they pertain to her in terms of employment opportunities.

St. Louis’ entrance on the list comes as a surprise to MU freshman Tina Zhang, whose hometown is suburban St. Louis.

“When you are from there, it doesn’t seem that great, but I guess if you’re not, it’s a pretty good place to live,” Zhang said.

Zhang said she understands why St. Louis was chosen based on the criteria the survey used. She said St. Louis has good job availability, is affordable and has a fair amount of entertainment options for young people.

Zhang does not plan to move to St. Louis after graduation, however. Instead, she plans on making an East Coast city her home.

Several states away, Atlanta’s inclusion on the list does not surprise MU freshman Lee Banov, a native of the city.

“The city has many colleges, so it is full of young people and things for them to do,” Banov said.

Banov added that Atlanta is an affordable place to live and has a vibrant arts and sports scene while maintaining the charm of a smaller southern city.

Banov said he intends to move back to Atlanta at some point but is open to other cities upon graduation.