NYC Not A Great Place To Be Without A Bachelor's Degree: Study

NEW YORK – New York City is one of the worst places in the country to be if you don't have a bachelor's degree, a new study has found.

The report, published by the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and Cleveland, shows about 65 percent of people aged 25 and older do not have a bachelor's degree. The findings are based of data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau.

And it found that where you live makes a huge difference in whether non-degree-holders will be able to find well-paying jobs.

The study identified jobs that don’t require a four-year degree that gave workers the opportunity to earn more than the national median income of $37,690, adjusted for regional price differences. These jobs — defined in the report as “opportunity employment” — account for about 22 percent of all jobs in the 121 metros studied.

Registered nurses, carpenters and electricians are some examples of these types of positions, as well as accounting clerks and administrative supervisors.

The New York City area ranked second worst in the nation, just ahead of Washington D.C for opportunity employment share, the analysis found. Here’s the breakdown:

• Metro area employment: 3,103,530
• Opportunity employment: 14.6 percent
• Ratio of sub-baccalaureate residents (ages 25-64) to opportunity employment: 3.7

While opportunity employment accounted for about 21.6 percent of the total jobs in all the metros, the areas with the highest share were located in the Midwest. That includes Toledo, Ohio, ranked the No. 1 metro area in the country for workers lacking a bachelor’s degree.

Anchorage, Alaska; Des Moines, Iowa; Birmingham, Alabama; and St. Louis, Missouri rounded out the top five. Each saw opportunity jobs account for at least 30 percent of all jobs.

Conversely, Washington, D.C. ranked as the worst metro area for workers without a four-year degree. Opportunity employment accounted for just 14.6 percent of jobs in and around the nation’s capital, the researchers found. Here are the 10 worst metros for opportunity jobs:

1. Washington, D.C. — 14.6 percent
2. New York, NY — 15.3 percent
3. Los Angeles, CA — 15.4 percent
4. Miami, FL — 15.5 percent
5. San Jose, CA — 15.5 percent
6. Daytona Beach, FL — 16.2 percent
7. San Diego, CA — 16.2 percent
8. Myrtle Beach, SC — 16.5 percent
9. Boulder, CO — 16.6 percent
10. Ventura, CA — 16.8 percent

The report also identified some of the largest opportunity jobs that could see better-than-average growth over the next seven years and — perhaps more importantly — aren’t considered to be at significant risk of being taken over by robots. This includes jobs in health care and the skilled trades. Jobs most at risk included office and administrative support.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.