Nation for Millennials: Houston is Top Relo Spot

In Houston, Houston is the nation’s most popular migration destination for Millennials while San Antonio is the hottest termination spot for Gen Zers seeking permanent digs, says a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin.

These aren’t those age groups’ only end points for moving. Gen Zers (the oldest Gen Zer is 29 years old) flock to places flush with job prospects for young people, like Washington, D.C., Austin and Nashville.

Millennials (born from 1981 to 1996) trek to areas where they can get bigger homes for less money, like Baltimore and Dallas, Redfin notes.

“Gen Zers are chasing opportunity while millennials are chasing space,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, a principal economist at Redfin. “Younger adults are gravitating toward cities where they can launch both their careers and social lives while Millennials are more focused on places where a paycheck stretches further and buying a home is attainable.”

Houston, Dallas Tops for Millennial Movers (Millennials are now between 30 and 45 Years Old)

Houston is the most popular destination for Millennials today, with 16,365 more of them moving into the metro than leaving. It’s followed by Dallas, +13,072; Baltimore, +11,724; Las Vegas, +8,860 and Atlanta, +8,753.

Millennials are in their 30s and early 40s, says Redfin, times in life when buying a home and finding more space can weigh more heavily on decisions about where to locate. Their top destinations are large job centers where housing generally costs less than in coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

All five of the most popular destinations for Millennials have a median home-sale price of less than $450,000.

For the last decade, Houston and Dallas have led the nation in new single-family home construction.

Like Gen Zers, Millennials are leaving New York at a faster rate than any other metro area, with a net outflow of 42,698 followed by Los Angeles, 31,107; Miami, 21,373; Washington, D.C., 12,364 and San Francisco, 11,819.

But young Americans aren’t running from expensive cities to confront the cheapest place they can find. Most make relatively short moves, suggesting they want to find a better job or lower cost of living without giving up their existing lifestyle networks. And the fact that expensive coastal cities are losing residents from both generations is a sign that even the biggest job centers can lose their pull when housing costs get too high.

They Hate New York

Both generations have at least one thing in common: New York and Los Angeles are among the places they’re most likely to leave in large numbers.

And many of the most popular relocations for those in both generations are relatively short jumps between neighboring metros.

The Big Apple is losing more members of Generation Z than any other metro. It posted a net outflow of 29,554 residents followed by Minneapolis, 17,815; Los Angeles, 16,465; Denver, 13,882 and Detroit, 11,696.

Affordability—or lack of it —is part of the story in costly New York and LA, but Gen Z migration isn’t purely about housing costs. Moves among young adults are also heavily influenced by college, first jobs and transition from school to the workforce, says the Redfin report.

Gen Zers Flock to San Antonio

San Antonio is the most popular migration terminus for Gen Zers, with 10,678 more of them moving into the metro than the number moving out. Other top destinations for Gen Zers include Washington, D.C, +8,631; Austin, +8,590; Nashville, +8,093; Dallas,+6,944; Providence, +6,198; Las Vegas, +4,397; Virginia Beach, +3,990; Honolulu, +3,382 and Charleston, S.C., +3,347.

The three Texas metros stand out as particularly attractive spots to kick start a career, Redfin says. Separate Redfin and Glassdoor analyses rank Washington, D.C. as the best big U.S. city for recent college graduates while Dallas ranked fourth and Austin came in 10th. The ranking considered career opportunities, housing affordability and quality of life.

D.C. offers perhaps the clearest generational contrast: It’s the second-most popular destination for Gen Zers but one of the places Millennials most commonly bid ‘farewell’ to.

In Short Hops, Not Cross, Country Treks

The most common Gen Z route is Los Angeles to Riverside, Calif. A total of 10,261 Gen Zers made that move in 2024. It was followed by New York to Philadelphia, 9,284 movers and Los Angeles to San Diego, 9,237 movers.

Rather than travel cross-country, many Gen Zers rearrange their lifestyle within the regions where they already live as they pursue jobs or less expensive housing.

Like Gen Zers, Millennials often move between neighboring metros. And also, like Gen Zers, their most popular route is Los Angeles to Riverside, with 19,983 movers making that journey. Next come Washington, D.C. to Baltimore (11,343 movers) and San Jose to San Francisco (11,302 travelers).

For Millennials, some of those moves offer a clear housing tradeoff. Relocating from Los Angeles to Riverside or from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore can provide access to more affordable residences without leaving a region altogether. One notable exception to the short-move pattern is the seventh-most common route for millennials. It runs from New York to Los Angeles, the only cross-country route on the top 10 list.

Big Moves Less Common for Young Adults

Young adults are a bit less likely to make a major move than they were a decade ago—or even just before the pandemic. Roughly 14% of 19–24-year-olds moved away from their metro area in 2024, down from roughly 15% in 2014. And roughly 9% of 25–34-year-olds relocated in 2024, down from about 11% in 2014.

Remote work has made it possible for young adults to start their careers or change jobs without changing cities, and high housing costs in certain places may be discouraging some would-be movers.