There is no shortage of studies on millennials, as everybody seems to want to know what makes this generational cohort tick.
Born between 1981 and 1996, millennials are the largest generation alive. Researchers depict millennials as educated, socially conscious, technologically savvy, health conscious, hardworking and entitled.
They are not afraid to question authority, they have delayed marriage or never married, and they also have put off having children, studies have concluded. And a 2018 study by Brookings noted that they are the most diverse adult generation in American history.
Research further pointed out that as a result of being hammered by the Great Recession, millennials have been reluctant to buy homes and therefore are more likely to move in with their parents and stay awhile.
And at the time of the Brookings study, it found that that the highest shares of millennials were in the fast-growing South and West, such as Austin, Texas; San Diego; and Los Angeles. But are those the best places to live for millennials?
To find out, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key dimensions: Affordability, Education & Health, Quality of Life, Economic Health and Civic Engagement. These categories were evaluated using 34 key metrics ranging from share of millennials to millennial population growth to average monthly earnings for millennials to millennial unemployment rate to millennial voter-turnout rate.
Each of the metrics was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for millennials. WalletHub then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order its sample.
The following, in ascending order, are WalletHub’s best states for millennials:
10. Colorado
Although the state ranked as the second least affordable (behind Alaska) for millennials, it earned an overall score of 57.55, due to fairly high rankings in other categories. It ranked 23rd in the education & health category, fifth for quality of life, 10th for economic health and ninth for civic engagement.
9. Virginia
The state received an overall score of 57.82. It ranked 39th in affordability, 15th in education & health, 19th for quality of life, 20th for economic health and third for civic engagement.
8. Wisconsin
The state had an overall score of 58.68. It ranked 21st in affordability, 24th in education & health, 12th for quality of life, 31st for economic health and No. 1 for civic engagement.
7. Oregon
The state had an overall score of 58.90. It ranked 34th in affordability, 14th in education & health, 16th for quality of life, 14th for economic health and second for civic engagement.
6. Minnesota
The state had an overall score of 60.22. It ranked 12th in affordability, 16th in education & health, sixth for quality of life, 18th for economic health and 27th for civic engagement.
5. Illinois
The state received an overall score of 60.28. It ranked second (behind Missouri) for affordability, fourth in education & health, eighth for quality of life, 46th for economic health and 18th for civic engagement.
4. Utah
The state received an overall score of 62.90. It ranked 20th for affordability, seventh in education & health, ninth for quality of life, No. 1 for economic health and 30th for civic engagement.
3. Massachusetts
The state had an overall score of 63.72. It ranked 25th for affordability, third in education & health, fourth for quality of life, 17th for economic health and 22nd for civic engagement.
2. District of Columbia
The state had an overall score of 65.34. It ranked 27th for affordability, second in education & health (behind Hawaii), No. 1 for quality of life, 26th for economic health and 15th for civic engagement.
1. Washington
The state received an overall score 67.45. It ranked sixth for affordability, 17th in education & health, second for quality of life, third for economic health and sixth for civic engagement.
The full report can be viewed here.