North Dakota tops the nation in opportunities for young people.
MoneyRates.com lists North Dakota as number one in the top ten best states in the nation for young people. States were ranked according to several criteria, including insurance costs for young drivers, college costs, affordability of housing, youth-oriented retailing, nightlife, healthfulness, the state’s youthfulness and housing availability. Sara Otte Coleman is North Dakota’s tourism director.
"I think that as our economy broadens, there are obviously a lot of variety in terms of recreation, and employment and housing and all of that is expanding and giving young people more options. You look at our downtown areas in Fargo and Bismarck and Grand Forks and they are becoming more vibrant, there's more art activities, more entertainment options, and that's really helping the quality of life added to the outdoor recreation that we have and the fact that they can get good jobs," Coleman says.
Brianna Ludwig says many of the jobs are directly tied to activity in the oil patch and North Dakota’s energy sector. Ludwig is Youth Office Manager and Marketing Specialist with the North Dakota Department of Commerce.
"They really range from two year programs like dental hygienist or dental assistant, auto technician, diesel mechanic, all the way up to social work or psychologist or physical therapist. You've got openings obviously in the energy industry, but you have all of those openings that come with that, all of those supportive industries like health care and human resources, and you know, security, our police force - things like that - it all comes with the boom, the energy boom that we're experiencing," Ludwig says.
North Dakota was joined on the list by several of its neighbors – South Dakota is ranked second, Iowa third, Montana fourth and Nebraska fifth.
