Top Metros for Millennials

Despite the rising rents in some of the most popular cities for young people, a recent study by PayScale, a data-driven benefits and compensation firm, shows that many of those places are ultimately the most rewarding for millennials just starting out in the workforce.

To find out which cities were the best options for young workers, PayScale analyzed data from 650,000 surveys filled out over the last two years by millennials, and weighed factors like compensation, benefits, length of commute, overall job satisfaction, job stress, and opportunities to grow with the company.

They also came up with a "Gen Y commonness score," measuring the likelihood that an employee from each metro area was a member of the millennial generation compared to the rest of the country. PayScale also considered which areas offered popular millennial job perks including flexible work hours, a casual dress code, extra learning opportunities, the option to work from home, pets at work, free snacks, and a gym in the building.

The big missing piece of this study: affordability. Many cities named in this survey as the top places for millennials are also among the most expensive for those starting out in their career, often with rising rents and stagnant wage growth.

These are the top 10 places for millennials and the median Gen Y salary:

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash (Median Gen Y pay: $55,500) San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. ($69,700) San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($77,500) Austin-Round Rock, Texas ($48,400) Provo-Orem, Utah ($43,100) Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass. ($55,600) San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ($49,300) Madison, Wis. ($46,100) Boston-Quincy, Mass. ($56,300) Salt Lake City, UT ($47,000) Cities were then ranked based on the millennial population and median rental rates. 1. Washington, D.C. Millennial population (20-34): 29% Median rent 2BR: $3,287 2. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Millennial population (20-34): 31% Median rent 2BR: $1,772 3. Denver, Colorado Millennial population (20-34): 26% Median rent 2BR: $2,025 4. San Francisco, California Millennial population (20-34): 26% Median rent 2BR: $5,255 5. Boston, Massachusetts Millennial population (20-34): 33% Median rent 2BR: $4,498 6. Austin, Texas Millennial population (20-34): 29% Median rent 2BR: $1,656 7. Seattle, Washington Millennial population (20-34): 28% Median rent 2BR: $2,596 8. Raleigh, North Carolina Millennial population (20-34): 26% Median rent 2BR: $2,431 9. Baltimore, Maryland Millennial population (20-34): 25% Median rent 2BR: $1,586 10. Cincinnati, Ohio Millennial population (20-34): 27% Median rent 2BR: $2,138