The Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area ranked in the top five cities for recent college graduates in a new study by ADP, a payroll services provider.

The study, reported by The Wall Street Journal, ranked 55 metro areas with populations of at least 1 million.

The rankings are based on hiring activity, salaries, and cost-of-living.

Birmingham ranked fifth behind Raleigh, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Austin.

The article said UAB and UAB Hospital and and other large employers in healthcare, finance, and technology boosted Birmingham’s favorability.

ADP compiled median salaries for workers ages 20 to 29 in jobs requiring considerable preparation, such as a bachelor’s degree.

The ADP study measured hiring activity by comparing the number of people ages 20 to 29 employed in considerable preparation jobs and the number of new hires over the last year in that category to establish a growth rate for employment in those jobs.

The affordability ranking for cities is based on the the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which measures a metro area’s consumer price index by against the national cost index.