Tracking Millennial Migration

It is no secret that the majority of Americans have taken a financial hit thanks to the pandemic. But what many may not realize is that millennials have been among hit the hardest by the fallout of COVID-19.

Information recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals the national homeownership rate to be resting right at 63.9%. But for millennials, that rate falls drastically to just under 40% (39.5%).

Experts attribute the falling share of millennial homeowners to several key factors. According to the Urban Institute, this pattern of delayed homeownership among these particular young adults today can be directly contributed to their propensities to get married later in life (if at all), to possess much higher student loan debts upon graduation, and to prefer certain geographic areas and neighborhoods than their previous generations. Experts also point to today’s problematic issue of scarce affordable housing options as an element added to the mix.

Porch.com revealed that millennials are vacating larger and expensive metro areas, in lieu of smaller or suburban areas. This comes as an ironic twist as it was the millennial set that first was responsible for revving up the rise in population and growth of many urban cities after the devastation of the Great Recession.

While there was already a trend being seen of over millennials and younger Gen Xers, in particular, migrating away from the metro areas pre-COVID, the arrival of the pandemic has seemed to only propel this migration forward at lightning speed. Factors causing this are largely led by the expenses associated with city life, as well as the idea of dense city living losing its appeal amid growing health and safety concerns.

Where are these millennial migrating to? Porch.com reveals that the Midwest seems to be attracting the lion’s share of movers. Iowa and South Dakota posted the highest homeownership rates among millennials in the country (53.7% and 51.5%, respectively). On the opposite end of the spectrum—those states attracting the least new homeowners—including Hawaii, California, and New York (each posting below 30% homeownership rates).