Top 5 States for Millennials

Despite the negative stereotypes, millennials are the biggest influences on American consumerism. Still, millennials are falling behind economically. Wallethub reports that on average, millennials earn 20 percent less than Baby Boomers did at the same age. Despite this, millennials are still finally starting to enter the housing market analyzed. Wallethub analyzed data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which states could be considered the best for millennials to live in.

Millennials are taking over the housing market, according to Ellie Mae’s recent Millennial Tracker, which shows millennials accounting for 86 percent of all closed loans in February. Wallethub’s data shows where the best places for these large amounts of new homebuyers to buy a new home are located. Some factors WalletHub took into account was affordability, including housing costs, and economic health. North Dakota was the top-ranking state on Wallethub’s overall list, but number two in terms of housing affordability. That rank went to Iowa. At the bottom housing cost list for millennials was Hawaii, with its historically high cost of living.

North Dakota also holds the lowest number of Millennials living with their parents, Wallethub reports, followed by D.C. These two states actually hold the highest number of millennials. Additionally, the District of Columbia ranked number one on the site’s ranking of media household income for millennials, followed by New York. Despite the high income, D.C., still ranks relatively low on the overall affordability index, at number 46.

Another factor Wallethub includes in its report are unemployment. Still at the top, North Dakota ranked lowest in Millennial unemployment, followed by Nebraska and South Dakota. However, many Southern states tend to fall short. Wallethub’s report showed several states in the South had equally low millennial unemployment rates, including Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi.

Although North Dakota and D.C. received high rankings in several categories, these two states did not hold the highest number of millennial home purchases. On a market level, the most millennial purchases by percentage were seen in Texas, according to Ellie Mae.

The top five states for millennials are North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and District of Columbia. To view the rest of the ranking, read the report from Wallethub here.