Metropolitan Area

The median annual earnings for full-time working millennials in the U.S. was $40,000 in 2018, about 16 percent lower than the median for all workers of $48,000. Across major metropolitan areas, unadjusted millennial earnings ranged from a low of $25,000 per year to a high of $71,000 per year in San Jose, CA.

To identify the best metropolitan areas for healthy aging, a composite score was created based on the following metrics:

Data on the share of adults who have ever been diagnosed with a form of depression comes from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention SMART Survey (Selected Metropolitan Area Risk Trends) conducted in 2017. The SMART Survey also contains information on obesity (based on BMI) among adults as well. Additional demographic statistics—disability, marriage status, income, and poverty—are from the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. These demographic statistics are representative of the entire population, not just adults.

The data on the median earnings for full-time workers under 25, median earnings for all full-time workers, and the proportion of the population under age 25 is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (ACS PUMS). The cost of living index is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Regional Price Parity dataset for 2017. Median earnings for each metro were adjusted based on the cost of living index for that metro. Earnings in expensive cities were adjusted down to reflect lower purchasing power while earnings in relatively affordable cities were adjusted up to reflect higher purchasing power.

To identify the cities with the hardest-working parents, a composite score was calculated for each metro based on the following factors (all weighted equally), with higher scores indicating that parents work harder:

Statistics on real estate markets are from Zillow. To identify the “hottest” real estate markets in the U.S., a composite score was calculated based on the following metrics for each metropolitan statistical area:

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The median income for all recent college graduates in the U.S. is $37,000 per year. Among large metropolitan areas, this ranges from a high of more than $65,000 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara to a low of $30,000. This statistic includes all recent graduates (working full or part-time) with income.The national unemployment rate for recent college graduates is a low 3.7 percent. Similar to income, unemployment rates vary significantly by location—from less than 1 percent up to 8.2 percent among large metros.Among the 53 metropolitan areas with more than 1 million residents, rent ranges from a low of $772 per month to a high of $2,213 per month. The national median monthly rent is just over $1,000.The proportion of recent college graduates in a given metropolitan area is generally low, ranging from less than 1 percent up to 3.5 percent. A few percentage points means a lot within this small range.The 10 best large metropolitan areas for recent college graduates are not what one might expect. Neither New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, nor Washington D.C. made the cut. The best locations are generally not on either coast. The top 10 locations offer competitive wages, lower living costs, employment opportunities, and plenty of fun for residents outside of the office.

The Pew Research Center’s definition of millennials is people born from 1981 to 1996. In 2012, the youngest millennials were still in their teens. In order to exclude those who were likely still in school, the analysis was done only on people who were at least 20 in 2012, i.e. born between 1981 and 1992.

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Among America’s metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people, millennial marriage rates range from a low of 21.2 percent in Gainesville, FL to a high of 56.1 percent in Provo-Orem, UT. The national rate is 32.9 percent.Despite low homeownership rates among millennials overall, homeownership among married millennial couples (56.3 percent) is much closer to the national rate of 63.4 percent.Similarly, while birth rates are at historic lows and while just 48 percent of millennial women are moms, 72 percent of married millennial households have children.Metropolitan areas on the East Coast are noticeably absent when it comes to higher rates of millennial marriages. Locations in Texas and Utah, on the other hand, are particularly well-represented.

As a general personal finance rule of thumb, it’s best if housing costs don’t exceed 28 percent of household income. Based on this rule, the average millennial could afford to buy a home that costs up to $260,678, given an average annual income of almost $44,000. (This assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage with a 20 percent down payment at today’s interest rates.)