Barbecue, baseball and fast internet help KC rank high in new study

Barbecue, the World Series champion Kansas City Royals and Googe Fiber help push Kansas City into the top ranks nationally among “best cities for 2016 college graduates.”

A new study by SmartAsset, a financial advice provider, also took a deeper statistical dive into employment and cost of living data to rate Kansas City as the fourth-best city for new grads to live in and find work.

Kansas City came in behind Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa., and Columbus, Ohio, in the rankings released April 26.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for workers with at least a bachelor’s degree averaged a low, low 2.8 percent in 2015. But, the SmartAsset report notes, the ability to get a job isn’t the only concern: It must pay enough to handle student debts, which now average about $35,000 at the time of graduation.

The study looked at 100 metro areas. Kansas City scored high for affordability and livability.

Those measures helped two other Midwest cities, as well as two cities in Texas, hit the top 10 list. Rounding out the top 10 were San Antonio, Tex.; Austin, Tex.; Seattle, Wash.; Omaha, Neb.; Madison, Wisc., and Wichita, Kan.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Barbecue, baseball and fast internet help KC rank high in new study."