Just 11.2% of Americans moved in the past year — an all-time low. This is mostly due to low migration levels among millennials, who are far less likely to migrate than older generations. Still, the likelihood of picking up and moving to a new place remains highest among young people 18 to 34 years old.
Such a major life transition is a serious decision and involves important considerations. Subjective factors like the presence of friends and family are often the main reasons for selecting a particular destination, but they are highly personal. More practical considerations such as affordable housing, work availability, and desirable amenities, on the other hand, are more quantifiable and apply to everyone attempting to relocate. In the United States, some places are far more attractive to young people than others.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed U.S. counties with the most migrants age 18 to 34 who moved there last year as a share of the overall population. Because many counties with a large share of such young migrant population included college towns, and because college students are often temporary residents, we excluded areas where a relatively large percentage of the pop are students. Specifically, we excluded counties where college students comprise a larger share of the population compared to their share nationwide.
Between 5% and 11% of the populations of 33 counties are young people who moved there in the last year, versus the average across all counties of 2.9%.
Click here to see the 33 places where young people are moving.
Click here to see our methodology.
33. Franklin County, New York
> Commuting zone: Malone, NY
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 2.8%
> Median home value: $101,600
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.6%
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32. Otero County, New Mexico
> Commuting zone: Alamogordo, NM
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 12.1%
> Median home value: $101,800
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.0%
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31. Liberty County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 4.7%
> Median home value: $87,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 7.6%
30. Stafford County, Virginia
> Commuting zone: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.1% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 19.6%
> Median home value: $305,300
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 3.9%
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29. Morgan County, Tennessee
> Commuting zone: Knoxville, TN
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.2% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 4.3%
> Median home value: $92,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.6%
28. Hale County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Plainview, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.2% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 0.6%
> Median home value: $73,400
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.7%
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27. Harrison County, Mississippi
> Commuting zone: Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.2% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 10.4%
> Median home value: $137,700
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.5%
26. Taylor County, Florida
> Commuting zone: N/A
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 6.9%
> Median home value: $83,700
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.5%
25. Island County, Washington
> Commuting zone: Oak Harbor, WA
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 5.5%
> Median home value: $290,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.0%
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24. York County, Virginia
> Commuting zone: Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 15.1%
> Median home value: $312,600
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 3.9%
23. Butts County, Georgia
> Commuting zone: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: -3.1%
> Median home value: $113,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.6%
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22. Routt County, Colorado
> Commuting zone: Steamboat Springs, CO
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.4% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: -1.5%
> Median home value: $394,600
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 2.7%
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21. Rusk County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Longview, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.5% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 4.1%
> Median home value: $101,400
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.8%
20. Cochise County, Arizona
> Commuting zone: Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 5.8% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 3.3%
> Median home value: $143,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.1%
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19. Dale County, Alabama
> Commuting zone: Ozark, AL
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 0.5%
> Median home value: $101,700
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.9%
18. Hockley County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Levelland, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 5.3%
> Median home value: $81,600
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.7%
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17. Benton County, Minnesota
> Commuting zone: St. Cloud, MN
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: -5.1%
> Median home value: $156,100
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.5%
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16. Hoke County, North Carolina
> Commuting zone: Fayetteville, NC
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 20.8%
> Median home value: $141,500
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.5%
15. Williams County, North Dakota
> Commuting zone: Williston, ND
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.1% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 84.2%
> Median home value: $201,400
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.4%
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14. Craven County, North Carolina
> Commuting zone: New Bern, NC
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.1% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 11.6%
> Median home value: $154,500
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.3%
13. Tattnall County, Georgia
> Commuting zone: N/A
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 3.9%
> Median home value: $80,600
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.4%
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12. Caldwell County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Austin-Round Rock, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.3% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 9.2%
> Median home value: $115,300
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.3%
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11. Montgomery County, Illinois
> Commuting zone: N/A
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.7% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: -1.7%
> Median home value: $78,300
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 7.1%
10. Meade County, South Dakota
> Commuting zone: Rapid City, SD
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.8% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 8.8%
> Median home value: $162,700
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 3.0%
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9. Vernon Parish, Louisiana
> Commuting zone: Fort Polk South, LA
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.9% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 6.9%
> Median home value: $98,000
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 7.3%
8. Elmore County, Idaho
> Commuting zone: Mountain Home, ID
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 6.9% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 2.6%
> Median home value: $135,300
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.2%
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7. Broomfield County, Colorado
> Commuting zone: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 7.4% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 18.7%
> Median home value: $295,500
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 2.9%
6. Bee County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Beeville, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 7.7% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 6.0%
> Median home value: $72,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 7.7%
5. Jefferson County, New York
> Commuting zone: Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 8.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 10.3%
> Median home value: $141,000
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.2%
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4. Christian County, Kentucky
> Commuting zone: Clarksville, TN-KY
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 8.4% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 6.6%
> Median home value: $108,500
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.0%
3. Coryell County, Texas
> Commuting zone: Killeen-Temple, TX
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 8.5% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 4.0%
> Median home value: $102,700
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 4.5%
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2. Liberty County, Georgia
> Commuting zone: Hinesville, GA
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 9.5% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 8.0%
> Median home value: $122,400
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 5.8%
1. Lassen County, California
> Commuting zone: Susanville, CA
> Young adults who arrived in last year: 11.0% of population
> 2010-2015 chg. of 18-34 pop.: 4.6%
> Median home value: $172,900
> 2016 Unemployment rate: 6.9%
Methodology:
To identify the counties where young people are moving, 24/7 Wall St. considered the share of 18-34 year olds that had moved from one U.S. county to another in 2016. To avoid selecting only small college towns, we excluded counties where the share of residents currently enrolled in college exceeds the national average percentage of approximately 28%. These figures are based on five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey through 2015. Also from the Census Bureau we considered median home values for each county based on five-year estimates. 2016 unemployment rates also came from the Census Bureau and are part of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
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