Young adults chasing the American Dream should head to Iowa, where landing a job and becoming a homeowner is a realistic goal.
MarketWatch examined data from the Census Bureau and found that 13.5 percent of homeowners in Iowa are under 35 years old. In Iowa, the average home value is $139,000, the Millennial unemployment rate is only 4.9 percent.
While Iowa has jobs, they might not be the most attractive ones for young adults.
The attainability of homeownership isn’t the only factor that makes a location millennial-friendly, notes David Luther, content editor at career-insight company Zippia. Top industries in Iowa include manufacturing, warehousing, renewable energy, agriculture, and information technology — not all of which younger generations will want to relocate for, Luther notes.
Several states in the Great Plains region also have strong shares of Millennial homeownership, including Minnesota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.