More Millennials Live Here Than Anywhere Else
Real estate data and information website RealtyTrac says more millennials live in the D.C. suburb of Arlington, Virginia, than anywhere else in the nation.
Millennials (classified by RealtyTrac as age 37 and less) make up 39 percent of Arlington’s population – an 82 percent increase from 2007-2013. Nearby Alexandria, Virginia, ranks second at an 81 percent growth rate.
The report says that the millennial generation is drawn to regions with low unemployment and higher median incomes – although that results in higher-priced markets for buying and renting residential real estate.
For example, Arlington’s unemployment rate of 3.2 percent and Alexandria’s of 3.6 percent are well below the national average. Arlington boasts the highest median income of any of Redfin’s top 25 millennial-dense neighborhoods at $110,300, yet median home prices in the city top 400,000.
Millennials across the U.S. have a lower rate of home ownership than the population as a whole — 42 percent for millennials compared to 65 of the overall population.
Rounding out the list of top five millennial meccas are Orleans Parish, La., in the New Orleans metro area, with a 71 percent increase; San Francisco County, with a 68 percent increase; and Denver County, Colorado, with a 57 percent increase.
For the study, RealtyTrac analyzed Census population data between 2007 and 2013 in more than 1,800 counties nationwide to discover which markets are seeing the biggest shifts in both baby boomer and millennial populations, overlaying that data with information on median prices, price appreciation and rental rates to create a heat map of their migration patterns. The analysis further focused in on the top 10 counties for increases and decreases in both millennials and baby boomers.
Kathryn Hamilton, CAE, is Vice President for Marketing and Communications at NAIOP Corporate.
