A new report from the data management firm GoodCall shows that Roanoke Rapids was ranked the 45th best small city in the United States for lawyers and recent law school graduates to launch their careers.
Roanoke Rapids made the list due to a high average salary for lawyers, as well as affordable housing and attractive employment opportunities, the report said, noting Roanoke Rapids lawyers make an average salary of $130,920, while spending just 6.94 percent of their income on housing. The city also received an employment attractiveness ranking of 151 out of 593.
“After years of low employment rates for recent law graduates, the job market is finally starting to improve,” says Eppie Vojt, founder of GoodCall. “We wanted to find areas where lawyers and recent law grads can find the best quality of life – outside of the big cities that typically attract the best job candidates.”
(The full report may be found by following this link)
The report looked at 539 cities nationwide with populations under 100,000.
The rankings were based on data gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Indeed.com.
“Our methodology took into account average lawyer salaries, law job density and law job availability, weighted with the competition in the local market,” says Vojt.
GoodCall also factored in lifestyle metrics such as housing affordability and area amenities, including arts, entertainment and recreation venues.
Local attorney Sammy Webb doesn't dispute the report. “I think the cost of living would be a factor.”
Webb also said he believes Northeastern North Carolina offers a large territory to set up a practice. “A lot of people don't go back to rural areas but we have a couple of new ones.”
While he hasn't viewed the report, longtime area attorney Gilbert Chichester offered two perspectives.
“From my perspective it's a great place to live and practice law. There's quite a bit of affordable housing and recreation. We're not far from the beach and there's the river.”
Conversely, he said, “I think the downside is I see a lot of younger lawyers that wouldn't be attracted. I've tried to recruit attorneys. It's been kind of hard to do. They're primarily looking at places like Wilmington, Charlotte and Greensboro.”
The area, however, has potential for starting a thriving practice, he said. “In a lot of metro areas, there's just so many attorneys providing legal services. In this section an attorney could develop clientele and earn a decent living.”