A study just named Seattle a top-five destination for millennials who moved away from home in the 2010s.
Researchers at Harvard University and the U.S. Census Bureau recently did a deep dive into the migratory patterns of millennials (specifically, the 31 million Americans born between 1984 and 1992). What they found was that the majority did not move far away from home. However, 1.8% of millennials who did move away from home chose to relocate to Seattle.
That percentage may not seem like much, but it earns Seattle the fifth spot in the overall ranking. Read on for more details!
The study looked at anonymous records to see where millennials lived at age 16 in 2010, and then again where they were living 10 years later at age 26.
The top city that millennials moved to between the years of 2010 and 2018 was New York, NY, which attracted 3.2% of the young folks who left home. That was followed by Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and then Seattle. Rounding out the top ten was Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Dallas, and finally Houston.
Wondering where the majority of these millennials were coming from on their way to Seattle? According to the study’s data, the largest group of these movers—a total of 6.8%—were relocating from Los Angeles. Three other California cities also made it into the top ten places of origin: San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego. The study does not specify whether these Californian transplants ultimately got sick of the rain and moved back.
Funnily enough, Seattle sent almost an equal amount of millennials to Los Angeles in return. Of those who were originally from Seattle, about 7% left home to move to LA in the 2010s.
As for the racial and ethnic details of the study’s findings, the Seattle Times noted:
“Seattle was a top 10 destination for both white and Asian millennial movers, but not for Black and Hispanic ones. About 1.9% of white millennials who left their childhood area moved to Seattle, and around 3.3% of Asian movers chose Seattle.”
Some of the things that may have made Seattle a top-five destination for millennials in the 2010s include the large supply of well-paying tech industry jobs, the gorgeous natural surroundings and ample outdoor recreation, and the progressive politics. If you’re a millennial who moved to Seattle, we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Also see: What Seattleites Want You To Know Before Moving To Seattle