Where are millennials moving? This North Carolina city ranks in the top 10, study finds
Millennials tend to be more restless than prior generations when it comes to moving around — whether it be for jobs or houses, surveys have found.
But where are they going?
A study analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data by the personal finance company SmartAsset found one city in North Carolina tops the list of attractive millennial destinations, and not for the first time.
Charlotte ranks in the top 10 cities nationwide in terms of net migration, the study found.
Net migration refers to the number of people — in this case, those between 25 and 39 years old — moving into a given location minus the number of people in the same age range moving out, according to SmartAsset.
To determine the rankings, SmartAsset pulled data from the Census Bureau’s 2018 1-year American Community Survey, which tracks certain population information in the U.S., such as social and demographic characteristics, on a yearly basis.
Data for 2019 is not yet available, according to the Census Bureau’s website.
But citing the most recent population profiles, SmartAsset determined Charlotte’s net migration ranks fifth out of the largest 205 cities in the U.S.
“Millennials have flocked to Charlotte, North Carolina in recent years,” the study states. “Though falling slightly in 2018, the net migration number still ranks as the fifth-highest in our study, at 3,808.”
When SmartAsset completed the same survey based on the Census Bureau’s 2017 data, Charlotte ranked sixth with a net migration of more than 5,000 millennials.
Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Austin, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas, round out the top four slots ahead of Charlotte in 2018.
No other location in North Carolina is featured among the top 25 cities where millennials are moving, according to the Census Bureau’s data. But the state as a whole ranks seventh overall with a net migration of 12,408, SmartAsset found.
That figure puts the Tar Heel state neck and neck with states like Nevada and Arizona, where the net migration falls between 12,100 and 12,500, according to the study.
Migration data out of Texas, however, suggests it’s the most popular moving destination for millennials.
“More than 192,200 individuals between the ages of 25 and 39 moved to Texas in 2018, while only about 138,700 moved out of the state,” SmartAsset said. “In total, there was a net migration of about 53,600 millennials into the Lone Star state, the most of any state.”
By contrast, major metropolitan areas in the northeast and Midwest such as New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. and St. Louis saw the largest departure of millennials in the same time frame, according to the study.
“Regionally, the Northeast is the least popular geographic area for millennials to relocate,” SmartAsset said.
Pennsylvania was the only state from that region to rank among the top 10.
“Meanwhile, the other two Middle Atlantic states — New York and New Jersey — saw large number of millennials moving out in recent years,” the study states.
