College Graduates, Here are the Top Cities to Start Your Career

It's getting to graduation season and college seniors everywhere are fretting over their career prospects, but for those in the Golden State, their prospects are better than most.

Three of the top 10 best cities to start a career is in California, according to Bankrate. The personal finance website looked the 100 largest cities in the United States with strong economies for its ranking.

The site also looked at social opportunities and quality of life, in addition to job prospects, pay potential and career advancement, to come up with the top-10 cities.

And the three best cities in California to start your career? They are, in order, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.

Bankrate says Los Angeles has great social life and career advancements for the 20-something crowd. The city offers a huge range of employment options for recent graduates, but landing that first job may still be tough, according to the site.

San Francisco made the list because young graduates will find the best quality of life there, the site said. It is also one of the top cities for career advancement, according to Bankrate, coming in at No. 5. Though, because of the intense competition from the high percentage of young and educated 20-something, finding that entry-level job is still a challenge.

If you want to someday make the big bucks, then San Jose is the place for you, that is if you don't mind giving up some social opportunities. While the city, located the end of Silicon Valley, has one of the highest median income among the cities in its list, Bankrate said the city isn't as social as others on the list because of the higher-than-average median age.

Some cities are better suited for certain professions than others, so this is just a general overview — in other words, take it with a grain of salt.

If you're interested, the full top-10 cities are:

1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. San Francisco
4. Washington D.C.
5. San Jose
6. Boston
7. Chicago
8. Seattle
9. Dallas
10. Philadelphia

Click here to see the full list.