Yan Bing, a 31-year-old electronics engineer, had quit his job in Beijing in late June and decided to embark on a new life in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

"Many of my peers and workmates thought I was crazy to change my job location from a top-tier city to a lesser-known place," Yan said. "But it's a better choice for me, anyway. I'm not a native of Beijing, and the cost of living in Beijing is much higher than in Suzhou."

Yan is among a growing number of young workers who are finding China's second- and third-tier cities increasingly attractive, due to lower living costs, improved working environments and better housing or entrepreneur support policies. However, top-tier cities are still more attractive overall.

A recent report jointly released by recruitment portal Zhaopin and financial research agency Zeping Hongguan said that last year, six second-tier cities were among the most popular destinations for job seekers: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; Chengdu, Sichuan province; Nanjing, Suzhou and Wuxi in Jiangsu; and Wuhan, Hubei province.

The report said that these cities are expected to become "talent banks", thanks to their burgeoning e-commerce and high-tech industries and friendly policies for entrepreneurs, as well as good salaries and lower living costs.

Hangzhou, for example, has seen reasonable growth in its net "brain gain" rate in recent years. This is usually used to measure a city's ability to attract and retain talent.

In 2023, the rate for Hangzhou was 1.2 percent, while it was 0.5 percent for Beijing and 1.5 percent for Shanghai, according to the report.

Hangzhou's advantages in attracting talent include its booming digital economy, expanding e-commerce, livestreaming and healthcare industries, and supportive policies, the report said.

In late May, the city's Binjiang district unveiled an entrepreneur sponsorship program that offers young talent a three-year financial aid package of up to 5 million yuan ($690,000) after their startups are approved by the local government.

Pang Shi, director of the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science's department of employment and entrepreneurship, said that job opportunities and promotions are easier to obtain in smaller cities, and stronger government support in terms of housing and entrepreneurship makes them even more attractive.

"More young people are pursuing balanced, healthier and fulfilling lifestyles, and the smaller cities can offer them stable lives," Pang said. "Settling in these smaller cities may also give them more opportunities to better take care of their families."

She added that with more job seekers choosing to settle down and inject creativity into second- or third-tier cities, the pressures and problems that large cities face with their burgeoning populations will be eased.

Still, not everyone wants to make the move to a smaller city.

Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin, said that based on a survey conducted by the recruitment portal in April, about 91.2 percent of respondents living in top-tier cities prefer to stay where they are.