Study: City tough for workers without degree

For adults without a college degree, Chicago might not be the ideal place to find a good-paying job and put down roots.

A report from the Federal Reserve suggests they should think instead of Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa, or St. Louis. They'd be advised to stay clear of New York, Washington, D.C., or most of southern California.

Three researchers at the Fed have analyzed trends in what they call "opportunity occupations," which pay wages higher than a metro area's median but don't require a bachelor's degree.

Using data from 121 metropolitan areas covering about three-quarters of all U.S. employment, the researchers found the Chicago area ranked poorly - 101st - in its overall share of opportunity jobs.

The 14-county Chicago region, running from southeast Wisconsin through Northwest Indiana, had 19.3% of its total jobs classed as opportunity employment. Metro areas that fared best in the study had opportunity employment shares of 29% to 34%.

Chicago and other low-ranking metros generally exhibit higher costs of living, said Lisa Nelson, community development research manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and one of the study's three authors. The others were Kyle Fee, senior policy analyst at the Cleveland Fed, and Keith Wardrip, community development research manager at the Philadelphia Fed.

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