--- title: Millennials Are Moving to These 11 Cities description: But factors such as rising real-estate prices and stiff job competition have sent millennials searching for other places in the US to call home. canonical: https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/ author: Business Insider article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-04T18:19:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:11.482Z og:title: Millennials Are Moving to These 11 Cities og:description: Move over, New York og:url: https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefbb5fe1a0b2a65/6988f368e76ad2eee6630261/new-orleans-millennials-cities.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5150 og:image:height: 2897 og:image:alt: USA, North America, Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Horse-drawn carriage at Royal Street under flags og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Millennials Are Moving to These 11 Cities twitter:description: Move over, New York twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefbb5fe1a0b2a65/6988f368e76ad2eee6630261/new-orleans-millennials-cities.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Millennials Are Flocking to These 11 Cities Across America > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=f6de5487-2ad2-4dac-9e28-b6f18d45c2ec&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Mark Abadi / Business Insider](https://time.com/author/business-insider/) ## Mark Abadi / Business Insider Dec 4, 2017 6:19 PM UTC  Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Royal Street Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Royal Street Getty Images by [Mark Abadi / Business Insider](https://time.com/author/business-insider/) ## Mark Abadi / Business Insider Dec 4, 2017 6:19 PM UTC Cities like New York and Washington, DC, have always attracted young people looking to get their start. But factors such as rising real-estate prices and stiff job competition have sent millennials searching for other places in the US to call home. We rounded up the cities and towns that millennials have moved to in droves over the past few years, using data from personal-finance company [SmartAsset](https://smartasset.com/mortgage/where-millennials-are-moving), real-estate-analytics firm [RCLCO](http://time.com/4797956/cities-millennials-moving/), and mortgage-software company [Ellie Mae](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/10/07/where-millennials-moving-answer-may-surprise-you/734212001/). Here are the places you’ll find booming millennial populations: ### Charlotte, North Carolina  USA, North Carolina, Charlotte, elevated view of the city skyline from the northeast Getty Images The millennial population of Charlotte, the biggest city in North Carolina, grew by [nearly 11,000](https://smartasset.com/mortgage/where-millennials-are-moving) in 2015, the latest year for which there is data. **_Read more:_** [**_Millennials are abandoning the suburbs for a new kind of neighborhood — see inside_**](http://www.businessinsider.com/california-orange-county-rancho-mission-viejo-agrihood-2017-11) ### Seattle, Washington  Seattle's Pike Place Market, with its familiar neon-lit clock and brass pig, is a renowned landmark. Clock is the biggest Market's neon sign. The Market was opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street, and remains one of Seattle's most popular tourist destinations. Getty Images Seattle gained more millennials than any other city on the West Coast, adding about [10,000](https://smartasset.com/mortgage/where-millennials-are-moving) to its population in 2015. ### Oakland, California  Oakland, California, United States, North America Getty Images About 7,500 more millennials moved to Oakland in 2015 than left the city, [according to SmartAsset](https://smartasset.com/mortgage/where-millennials-are-moving). ### Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia  Downtown Norfolk Virginia waterfront along the Elizabeth River. Getty Images The Norfolk-Virginia Beach metropolitan area saw the largest uptick as a percentage of its population. The area’s metropolitan population grew by 16% from 2010 to 2015, [according to RCLCO](http://time.com/4797956/cities-millennials-moving/). The region has worked hard to attract younger people, revamping city centers, developing new restaurants, and launching a light rail in Norfolk in 2011. ### Fargo, North Dakota  Fargo Theatre on Broadway Street, Fargo, North Dakota, United States of America, North America Getty Images Believe it or not, chilly Fargo, North Dakota, saw a surprisingly large boost to its millennial population, adding [5,000](https://smartasset.com/mortgage/where-millennials-are-moving) in 2015. ### New Orleans, Louisiana  Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Royal Street Getty Images New Orleans’ millennial population grew by more than 5,000 people from 2010 to 2015, an increase of 8.5%, [according to RCLCO](http://time.com/4797956/cities-millennials-moving/). ### Memphis, Tennessee  Beale Street, Memphis, TN Getty Images The population of millennials shot up 9.5% in Memphis between 2010 and 2015, according to [RCLCO](http://time.com/4797956/cities-millennials-moving/). **_Read more:_** [**_9 ways millennials are approaching marriage differently from their parents_**](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-millennials-gen-x-and-baby-boomers-approach-marriage-2017-11) ### Austin, Texas  Colourful retro shopping strip of South Congress, or SoCo, in Austin, Texas. South Congress is the 'hipster' part of Austin where there are lots of bars, restaurants, cafes, shops and live music. Getty Images Long considered a cultural hub for young people, Austin has millennial population that continues to grow, rising 6.6% in five years, according to [RCLCO](http://time.com/4797956/cities-millennials-moving/). ### Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  A wide angle view of the Pittsburgh skyline from the North Shore of the Allegheny River. Between the Sixth and Seventh Street Bridges, two of the 'Three Sister' bridges, the view includes many of Pittsburgh landmark buildings. Getty Images Pittsburgh’s millennial population is growing at the same rate as Austin’s, at 6.6% from 2010 to 2015. ### Athens, Ohio  Ohio University and Athens City Getty Images There are only six towns in America where millennials make up more than half of the homebuyers. Athens, home to Ohio University, is one of them, with millennials closing 59% of mortgages there, according to mortgage-data firm [Ellie Mae](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/10/07/where-millennials-moving-answer-may-surprise-you/734212001/). **_Read more:_** [**_6 ways millennials are raising kids differently than any generation before them_**](http://www.businessinsider.com/differences-millennial-gen-x-baby-boomer-parents-2017-11) ### Owensboro, Kentucky  Owensboro is a city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the 4th-largest city in the state by population Getty Images Owensboro, Kentucky, may be another surprising entry on this list, but according to Ellie Mae, in 2015 millennials made up 48% of homebuyers in this riverside town of 60,000\. Owensboro is within a few hours driving of Nashville, Louisville, and St. Louis, adding to its appeal. _This_ [_article_](http://www.businessinsider.com/cities-millennials-are-moving-to-2017-11) _originally appeared on_ [_BusinessInsider.com_](http://www.businessinsider.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/"},"headline":"Millennials Are Flocking to These 11 Cities Across America","datePublished":"2017-12-04T18:19:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:11.482Z","description":"Move over, New York","url":"https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/","keywords":["Living","cities","onetime","onetimetravel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefbb5fe1a0b2a65/6988f368e76ad2eee6630261/new-orleans-millennials-cities.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Abadi / Business Insider"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefbb5fe1a0b2a65/6988f368e76ad2eee6630261/new-orleans-millennials-cities.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USA, North America, Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Horse-drawn carriage at Royal Street under flags","caption":"USA, North America, Louisiana, New Orleans, French Quarter, Horse-drawn carriage at Royal Street under flags","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5045462/millennials-moving-cities/","name":"Millennials Are Flocking to These 11 Cities Across America"}}]}] ```