Millennials Flock to West and South Regions

Millennials are no longer flocking to bustling cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Just like the rest of America, Millennials are no longer relocating to these cities in droves, says SmartAsset. Instead, Millennials are headed toward more affordable markets with an abundance of outdoor space. The generation aged between 25 and 40 are the largest generation in the workforce and many are moving to relocate for jobs, pushing SmartAsset to crunch the numbers and identify the top cities for Millennials. Six of the top 10 cities are located in the west and the other four in the south.

Key Findings

• Moving West and South. Six out of the top 10 cities in the study are located in Western U.S., with the other four in the South. Colorado and Texas each have two cities in the top 10 – Denver and Colorado Springs in the Centennial State, and Austin and Frisco in the Lone Star State.
• Leaving the biggest cities. Millennials are flowing out most from the largest city in the country. New York City lost a net of almost 40,000 from this generational group in 2019. The second-largest outflow came from Chicago, with a net decrease of more than 11,000 millennials. Other big cities with net migration losses, placing at the bottom of our study, include Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston and Miami.
• States with no income tax. Five of the top 10 cities where millennials are moving have no state income tax on salaries and wages: Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Frisco, Texas; Henderson, Nevada and Cape Coral, Florida.

States Where Millennials Are Moving
More than 187,000 people between the ages of 25 and 39 moved to Texas in 2019, while nearly 154,000 left, creating a net gain in millennial residents of more than 33,000 – the biggest net gain for this generational group in the country. As a result, Texas leads the study for a second consecutive year.

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