Despite sky-high housing prices, Santa Clara is the top destination for millennials moving into California and the second leading destination for millennials nationwide. That’s according to new rankings from SmartAsset, which analyzed population data for 268 U.S. cities.
People ages 25-44 now make up 14.74% of Santa Clara’s population. The state’s second most popular destination for millennials, Sunnyvale, has a new millennial population of 12.53%. Sunnyvale ranked fourth nationwide.
On the other hand, a few California cities ranked among the most unpopular destinations for this age group. These include Santa Ana, Moreno Valley, Thousand Oaks and Lancaster.
The study highlights the extent of change Generation Y experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, one quarter of all millennials moved to a different state in 2022.
Nationwide, the leading destination for millennials is Cambridge, Massachusetts.
List and data were compiled by SmartAsset and do not reflect statistics on all cities.