Sierra Perrine is originally from Arizona, but wanted to leave the state for a new experience during college.“I always joked growing up that I wanted to live somewhere green and fluffy, and I describe Alabama as that,” Perrine said.Four years after graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in engineering, the 26-year-old said she’s surprised to still be in Birmingham, putting down roots. One big reason she’s sticking around is her job. And she’s not alone. This year, Birmingham topped payroll processor ADP’s annual list of best U.S. metro areas for young college graduates. The city rose from fifth place last year, surpassing places like San Jose, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina. The rankings are based on three data points: hiring rates for people in their 20s with job titles typically requiring a bachelor’s degree; median wages for those employees; and cost of living. Perrine is now a virtual design and construction manager for Brasfield & Gorrie, one of a few large, Birmingham-based construction firms that are building major projects across the South and the country. Her job is to integrate architects’ creative visions with mechanical engineers’ practical concerns about where things like ductwork and electrical wiring should go. Perrine interned with Brasfield & Gorrie while in college, and the company hired her after she graduated. She had other offers, some with higher salaries, but chose to stay in Birmingham.“Birmingham was so affordable, and it's what I knew I wanted to do,” she said. The next year, she bought a house. Sierra Perrine points out how tradespeople use the 3D building models like those she creates to best position HVAC and wiring systems so they don't conflict with architects' designs. Olivia McMurrey/WBHM“If I look at what I would have been able to get in Scottsdale versus here, it's drastically different,” Perrine said. “My biggest goal was to just own something, but it was an extra bonus that I got to have a nice, well-sized house in a comfortable community.”Industries including healthcare, banking, manufacturing, construction, and tech are all expanding in Birmingham. And Alabama’s largest universities are pulling in significant numbers of out-of-state students, many of whom, like Perrine, stay after graduation.They’re helping fill a gap economists have long foreseen between job-growth projections in Alabama and the number of workers with the education and skills needed for those jobs, said Tom Spencer, senior research associate with the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.“We are importing a lot of talent from around the country,” Spencer said. “We have strong demand for new employees and yet not an oversupply.”Spencer said that as demand for workers grows, industries are having to increase wages. In Birmingham, median annual wages for recent graduates rose more than 16% over the last 12 months, according to ADP.And when you combine relatively high wages with low cost of living, you get 23-year-olds buying houses in an economy where many of their peers are pessimistic about the possibility of ever becoming homeowners.While numerous industries are providing well-paying jobs to young professionals in Birmingham, healthcare and biotechnology are primary drivers of the city’s hiring and wage growth, said Dr. Ray Watts, president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Dr. Ray Watts is president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the largest higher-education institution in the city, a major academic medical center and Alabama's biggest employer.