The 10 U.S. cities where pay for young workers is rising the fastest, says new research

It's been a tough job market for young professionals, but there's some good news for 2026: New grads with up to four years' work experience are expected to see stronger wage growth next year, according to Glassdoor research.

In other words, early-career workers who can secure a job are likely to have more spending power, at a rate surpassing 2020 levels — the last time wage growth kept pace with inflation.

Wage growth will vary depending on the location. While rising cities may not offer the biggest paychecks compared to places like New York or San Francisco, they're seeing the fastest wage growth and offer a lower cost of living, Glassdoor researchers note.

These are the top 10 cities for early-career wage growth since 2020, according to Glassdoor research:

Annual growth since 2020: 7.0%

Average salary in 2025: $61,164

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Research and science; product and project management; human resources

Annual growth since 2020: 5.5%

Average salary in 2025: $60,876

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Health care; skilled labor and manufacturing; business

Annual growth since 2020: 5.4%

Average salary in 2025: $55,782

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Skilled labor and manufacturing; research and science; customer services and support

Annual growth since 2020: 5.3%

Average salary in 2025: $59,100

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Health care; sales; skilled labor and manufacturing

Annual growth since 2020: 5.2%

Average salary in 2025: $71,808

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Customer services and support; legal; research and science

Annual growth since 2020: 5.2%

Average salary in 2025: $62,970

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Customer services and support; consulting; marketing

Annual growth since 2020: 5.2%

Average salary in 2025: $58,513

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Health care, engineering, sales

Annual growth since 2020: 5.1%

Average salary in 2025: $73,711

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Consulting; customer services and support; product and project management

Annual growth since 2020: 5.1%

Average salary in 2025: $63,071

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Finance and accounting; sales; product and project management

Annual growth since 2020: 5.1%

Average salary in 2025: $59,975

Job groups with fastest wage growth: Engineering; health care; retail and food services

Health-care jobs are the most in-demand roles with rising pay for young workers, Glassdoor lead researcher Chris Martin told CNBC Make It via email. These positions led wage growth in three of the top 10 cities: Boise, Charleston and Rochester.

Overall, health care along with private education jobs have propped up the labor economy for some time. They make up about 17% of the jobs nationally but accounted for 56% of job growth between July 2023 and July 2025, according to an Indeed analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Meanwhile, customer services and support roles led wage growth in Miami and Austin, per Glassdoor.

And in many cities, wages are rising for jobs across the income spectrum, according to Glassdoor data. For example, Tucson's fastest-growing salaries for young workers were for engineering roles that pay an average salary of $86,700 in 2025, followed by health care ($64,100) and then retail and food services jobs ($35,800).

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