A study analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data by the personal finance company, SmartAsset, found Charlotte ranks in the top 10 of cities nationwide for millennial net migration destinations. Net migration is the number of people who move into a into a location minus the number of people moving out. In this case, the study looked at millennials, those between the ages of 25 and 39 years old.
To determine these rankings, SmartAsset pulled data from the Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey. The ACS covers a broad range of topics about social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics of the U.S. population on a yearly basis. According to the Bureau’s website, the data for 2019 is not available.
The study found that there was a net migration of more than 5,000 millennials to the city of Charlotte in 2017. Those numbers fell slightly in 2018 to 3,808 but Charlotte still ranks as the fifth highest according to the findings. Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Austin, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas took the top four slots ahead of Charlotte in 2018. The rankings considered 205 of the largest cities in the U.S. In 2017, when SmartAsset completed the same survey, Charlotte ranked sixth.
Among the top 25 cities where millennials are moving, no other city in North Carolina was featured. But the state as a whole ranks seventh with a net migration of 12,408. While North Carolina may have a city and state in the top 10, the migration data suggests Texas as the most popular moving destination for Gen Y. Two Texas cities rank in the top five, three in the top 10 (Houston ranks sixth) and the state saw a net migration of about 53,600, the most of any state. More than 192,000 people ages 25-39 moves to the Lone Star state in 2018 while less than 139,000 moved out.
The study also looked at cities millennials are leaving. New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; St. Louis, Missouri; and Miami, Florida round out the top five. No cities in North Carolina made that list.
The full report can be found here.
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