Where are millennials’ favorite cities?

There are "some very specific things" millennials look for in a community, experts say

Where are millennials’ favorite cities?

Millennials looking for a place to put down roots have to consider a lot of factors – cost of living, access to services, average home price and more. But even a city that combines the best-case scenario for all those factors won’t see a big millennial influx if young people don’t want to live there.

So what are the metro areas where young people most desire to live? Realtor.com recently crunched the numbers.

“There are some very specific things you see millennials looking for in a community right now,” Jason Dorsey, chief strategy officer for the Center for Generational Kinetics, told Realtor.com. He pointed out “supershort commutes,” cultural centers and restaurants as some of the factors millennials look for, as many young people from 25 to 34 years old want to enjoy the single life.

“College debt, thinner credit history, less savings—and all at a time when home prices have gone up,” Dorsey said. “For many millennials, it’s much harder to buy houses.”

That being the case, millennials are looking for the best places to live with their money and lifestyle needs. Here are Realtor.com’s top 10 cities for millennial home buyers”:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah

  • Median home price: $360,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 30%
  • Unemployment rate: 2.9%

 

2. Miami, Fla.

  • Median home price: $370,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 49%
  • Unemployment rate: 5.1%

 

3. Orlando, Fla.

  • Median home price: $279,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 34%
  • Unemployment rate: 4.4%

 

4. Seattle, Wash.

  • Median home price: $455,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 36%
  • Unemployment rate: 4.2%

 

5. Houston, Texas

  • Median home price: $310,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 36%
  • Unemployment rate: 5.4%

 

6. Los Angeles, Calif.

  • Median home price: $672,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 64%
  • Unemployment rate: 4.7%

 

7. Buffalo, N.Y.

  • Median home price: $158,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 23%
  • Unemployment rate: 5.6%

 

8. Albany, N.Y.

  • Median home price: $250,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 27%
  • Unemployment rate: 4.5%

 

9. San Francisco, Calif.

  • Median home price: $849,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 56%
  • Unemployment rate: 3.7%

 

10. San Jose, Calif.

  • Median home price: $950,000
  • Percentage of income needed to buy a home: 53%
  • Unemployment rate: 3.7%


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