When creating your college list, one factor you might be evaluating is where you eventually want to live after you graduate. For instance, students interested in working for the federal government often look at schools in Washington, D.C., while those who hope to work in the television industry may consider colleges in Los Angeles or New York.

But the question often arises about whether your college location really does affect where you eventually end up following graduation. Whereas many grads may have wanderlust after spending four years (or more) in one spot, other students expect to stay near their university after graduation. If location is an area of interest during your college hunt, you might want to check out the results of a recent study evaluating where students move after graduating.

Check the Stats

The economic modeling firm Emsi recently analyzed data from 3,740 schools to determine where graduates were living after college, and discovered the following outcomes:

- Grads from elite universities typically move to big cities, on average 677 miles away from where they went to college.

- Community college graduates tend to stay within 290 miles of their alma mater and most (61 percent) stay within 50 miles of where they went to school.

- Most graduates of state universities stay in the state, and they live an average 334 miles from the college. About 40 percent of state college grads remain within 50 miles of their school.

- Those who graduated from schools with mostly (or completely) online classes live an average of 785 miles away from their school's main location, making these grads the most likely to live throughout the country.

The news that community college and state university students don't stray too far from school makes sense, the report notes, because these schools are often centered around serving the needs of the local area. In addition, such universities often partner with local employers who strive to hire graduates.

Break Down Data By School

Students, parents and counselors who are interested in finding out where most graduates end up after college may want to check out the interactive tool that the site offers, where you can type in a school name and find out where most students live following graduation. We tried out the tool and found a few interesting facts, as follows:

- Franklin & Marshall College (located in Lancaster, Pa.): Most popular area for grads is New York County, N.Y.

- University of Notre Dame (located in Notre Dame, Ind.): Most popular area for grads is Cook County, Ill.

- Johns Hopkins University (located in Baltimore, Md.): Most popular area for grads is Washington, D.C.

- Wesleyan University (located in Middletown, Conn.): Most popular area for grads is New York County, N.Y.

- University of Iowa (located in Iowa City, Iowa): Most popular area for grads is Cook County, Ill.

- University of Virginia (located in Charlottesville, Va.): Most popular area for grads is Washington, D.C.

This is just a snippet of the findings, but prospective college students may want to check out the interactive tool to figure out where graduates of their target colleges end up following graduation.