Top Tennessee Cities to Start Your Career in 2025

If you're a recent graduate or a young professional eager to kickstart your career, Tennessee might just be the right spot! According to WalletHub's study of the Best & Worst Places to Start a Career in 2025, two Volunteer State cities are ranked in the top 25 best places to start a career. Let's take a look at what makes these cities stand out.

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They looked at over 180 cities across the U.S. to see which ones offer the best mix of job opportunities and overall quality of life. The team compared things like how many entry-level jobs are out there, what kind of starting salary you can expect, and how affordable housing is - a total of 25 key factors - to help you find the right place to launch your next chapter.

The best cities for starting a career not only have a lot of job opportunities but also provide substantial income growth potential and satisfying work conditions. It’s also important to consider factors such as how fun a city is to live in or how good of a place it is for raising a family, to ensure life satisfaction outside of your career.

Two Tennessee Cities Are Among the Best Places to Start a Career

According to this study, the best Tennessee city to start a career in is Knoxville, which ranked #19 on the list. The second-highest city in the Volunteer State is Chattanooga, which barely cracks the top 25 at #24.

There are two other Tennessee cities on the list - Nashville was just a little further down at #39, and Memphis was "just a little further than that" at #149.

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You can see the full report here if you'd like to take a deeper dive into all of that data, or you can just scroll over the map below to see how the rest of the country ranks.

Source: WalletHub

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in Tennessee

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Tennessee using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.

You Can Stay in a Lighthouse on an Island in Tennessee, Seriously!

When I first saw photos of this Airbnb listing, I thought for sure it had to be fake. I mean come on, a lighthouse on a private island with Smoky Mountain views? This sounds like a dream, but it's real!

Gallery Credit: Melissa