Millennials and younger adults are leaving expensive metros, with those born between 1981 and 1996 seeking affordable home space and Gen Zers targeting hubs with more job opportunities, Redfin said Tuesday.
Both generations are leaving expensive coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles, the online real estate brokerage said.
"Gen Zers are chasing opportunity, while millennials are chasing space," Redfin Principal Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said. "Younger adults are gravitating toward cities where they can launch careers and their social lives, while millennials are more focused on places where a paycheck stretches further and buying a home is attainable."
Gen Zers are moving to metros that offer job opportunities for people early in their careers, like San Antonio, Washington, D.C., Austin and Nashville. On the other hand, millennials favor areas like Houston, Las Vegas and Atlanta that have more affordable housing.
"But young Americans aren't fleeing expensive cities for the cheapest place they can find: most are making relatively short moves, suggesting they want a better job or lower cost of living without giving up their existing networks," Bokhari added. "And the fact that expensive coastal cities are losing residents from both generations is a reminder that even the biggest job centers can lose their pull when housing costs get too high."
Last week, a report by the National Association of Realtors showed that US existing home sales in August hit the lowest level since June 2025, weighed down by elevated prices.
Zillow Group (Z, ZG) said Monday that the pace of residential building permits in the US fell further below its pre-pandemic trend line in the year ended July, triggering concerns about an intensifying housing shortage amid ongoing affordability headwinds.
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