Kimberly Clark, executive vice president of Baltimore Development Corporation, attributes Baltimore’s higher-than-average hire rate to the area’s strong college town network, with the Johns Hopkins University, , University of Baltimore and Morgan State University being located in and around the city.<\/p>\n
ADP credited\u00a0Baltimore\u2019s high hiring rate and annual wage estimate to Hopkins, both the university and hospital, and the University of Maryland Medical System for providing jobs in science, engineering, health care, technology and mathematics as well as research opportunities for recent graduates.<\/p>\n\n
In ADP\u2019s similar study on the college graduate job market from last year, analyzing the same data from January 2019 to April 2024, Baltimore ranked No. 2, with a higher annual wage estimate of $52,000 and a lower hiring rate of 3.4%.<\/p>\n
Taho works for Capital One as a cyber technical associate near Towson. O<\/strong>riginally from Prince George\u2019s County,<\/strong> he <\/strong>previously worked for Textron Systems, a technology company specializing in defense and space near Towson, after he graduated. Textron offered him the job before he officially received his diploma from Maryland. <\/p>\n He cited big players in the aerospace, tech and defense industries in and around Baltimore, like Northrop Grumman in Linthicum Heights and Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, as a \u201cno-brainer\u201d choices for anyone looking to work in the tech industry.\u00a0Baltimore is already building on its reputation as a tech hub, seeking $70 million in funding last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are core sectors in the industry that Baltimore is a hub for that make it very attractive for recent up-and-coming professionals,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to stay close to home and get the chance to work for at least a well-known organization while not having to relocate.\u201d<\/p>\n The entertainment, restaurants<\/a> and nightlife that Baltimore provides also play an important role in attracting college graduates from other states and encouraging local graduates to stay, Clark said.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung people love Baltimore because there is so much to do here,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThe lifestyle is what Baltimore has to offer. There\u2019s lots to do. They can see concerts every Thursday at the First Thursday festival and then go play kickball with a Volo group after work.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Marano, vice president of student success \u00a0for the University of Baltimore, said many of University of Baltimore\u2019s graduates stay for the lifestyle Baltimore has to offer, such as the nightlife in Fells Point, the variety of restaurants across the city and numerous music festivals,<\/strong> and end up working for the university. Students also \u00a0feel comfort living near Hopkins for its career opportunities and its medical pedigree in case they are injured or sick.<\/p>\n “Students like the city’s size and, that there are so many opportunities for higher education and the benefits of having access to world-class medical institutions,” Marano said.<\/p>\n Graduates are hired to work in student admissions and build their administrative skills while encouraging others to learn and work in Baltimore. Other University of Baltimore students segue from the undergraduate and graduate law programs into the School of Law, going on to practice in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cOftentimes [graduates] like the vibrancy of the city, particularly Midtown because of the different restaurants, nightlife and that neighborhood feel you get near Mount Vernon,\u201d Marano said. \u201cGraduates from our school tend to end up in particular programs scattered across the institution in admission and institutional advancement in particular.”<\/p>\n Erick Rivadeneria, a University of Maryland 2025 graduate, moved to Arlington, Virginia, to work at Privia Health as a growth strategy and analytics coordinator. Also from Prince George’s County, Rivadeneria chose to move to Virginia because the job with Privia appealed more to him than one offered to him in Maryland, partially because of its salary.<\/p>\n “It was less so of a want to move to Virginia and more so that those were how the options leveled out for me,” Rivadeneria said. “There are different elements that come into that, such as income and where I could see my career going with this position.”<\/p>\n Although he is confident in the route he chose as a first-generation college graduate working in health care, Rivadeneria said the cost of living in Arlington is much higher than what he was used to in Maryland. According to the ADP study, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC metroplex has a higher annual wage estimate than the Baltimore metroplex but less affordability and a lower hiring rate.<\/p>\n\n As someone who frequently visited Baltimore growing up, Taho said he didn\u2019t let the city\u2019s history of a high homicide rate, which has dropped within the last year<\/a>, deter him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true that in certain pockets, you can make a wrong turn and end up in a sketchy neighborhood,” Taho said. “That\u2019s changing.\u201d<\/p>\n After rattling off many of the entertaining reasons to stay in Baltimore like going to Ravens games, grabbing a beer with friends in Federal Hill before catching an Orioles game<\/a> and visiting the Inner Harbor, Taho said he chose to stick to the Baltimore area when looking for a job due to its variety of fields related to his major, information science.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of living was a huge factor,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can rent a decent house in Baltimore for under $2,000. If you find that in New York, LA or even D.C., there\u2019s a catch. I can come out here, make $80,000 a year and live comfortably as a single new grad right out of school able to pay all of my loans and still have a little bit of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
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