Reports and Research
The State of US Cities and Youth Skills
Reports and Research
The “State of U.S. Cities and Youth Skills” report ranks cities in the United States according to how well they equip young people for employment at quality jobs with skills for future of work
Top U.S. Cities Preparing Youth with Skills for the Future
The Global Business Coalition for Education’s new “State of U.S. Cities and Youth Skills” report ranks cities in the United States according to how well they equip young people for employment at quality jobs with skills for future of work. Top-performing cities in the 2022 report include Madison (MI), Boston (MA), San Jose (CA), and Honolulu (HI), which lead U.S. cities in pre-school enrollment, high school graduation, percentage of youth learning or working, and wages for young people, respectively.
Top U.S. Cities Preparing the Workforce of Tomorrow
◉ The best cities for youth to be employed or in school are Madison (WI) where only 5.2% of youth between the age of 16 and 24 are not at school or not at work, followed by Boston (MA), with 5.7% and Provo (UT) with 5.9%.
◉ The best cities for early childhood education are Jackson (MI) where 59% of children were enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs, followed by San Jose (CA), St. Louis (MO) and New Orleans (LO) where 54% of children were enrolled. Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops before the age of five, making a child’s preschool years a period of critical growth in vital like skills. Cities with universal prekindergarten programs provide the best start of life for their youngest citizens.
◉ The best cities for high school graduation are Madison (WI) where 97.9% of young people graduated from high school, followed by Provo (UT) where 97.3% graduated and Honolulu (HI), where 96.5% of young people graduated. A high graduation rate means that these cities have invested in keeping youth at school.
◉ The best cities for youth wages are Honolulu (HI) with a median salary of $16, 370 per year for people between the age of 16 and 24 in 2019, followed by Las Vegas (NV) where the median salary for young people was $15 417 and San Diego (CA) with $14 671.
About the Report
The State of U.S. Cities and Youth Skills survey is based on 2015 to 2019 data from the American Community Survey and looks at the performances of US cities over 100,000 people in 10 areas including pre-school enrollment, high-school graduation, proportion of young people between 16 to 24 not at school or not at work, or youth wages.
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