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Best Cities And Neighborhoods For Millennials

This article is more than 9 years old.

Around this time every year a new crop of college graduates sets its sites on jobs across the country and, for many, life in an entirely new city. Around the same time, recent grads who signed and re-signed leases the previous year weigh the pros and cons of staying put versus moving to a new city or neighborhood for better pay, cheaper rent, and a host of other factors that enter the where-to-live decision-making process.

Generations of young professionals have sought--and continue to covet--first jobs in places like New York and Washington, D.C., but as the job market remains uncertain and the cost of living continues to rise, many young people are now considering cities for reasons beyond their traditional cache.

To create this ranking of the 25 Best Cities and Neighborhoods for Millennials,  Niche.com analyzed the data of cities and metro areas with one million residents or more from the U.S. Census, FBI, and surveys of nearly half a million college students and graduates from over the past four years. Factors examined include percentage of the population identified as millennials (ages 25 to 34), median income, education level, and racial diversity.

The ranking also favors lower median rents, unemployment rates, and crime rates. Within cities, a similar subset of factors was used to determine the best neighborhood for millennials. User-generated survey data contributed on factors like nightlife, cultural attractions, shopping, and professional sports was also taken into consideration.

“The economic climate right now is difficult for recent college grads,” says Niche.com Director of Business Development Mark Tressler. “With a ranking like this we’re combining the fun stuff with more practical things like safety and the unemployment rate. It’s a good balance of what you need to think about when you’re starting to get serious about life beyond college.”

Niche.com has been tracking the behaviors, preferences, and decision-making of millennials since 2002, when it was founded as college review and recommendation site CollegeProwler.com. Today, the site provides data and anecdotal information to individuals looking to choose neighborhoods, cities, and schools, using many of the insights gained about millennials when they were considering and attending colleges to understand what they now want in a city in which to build a career, life, and family.

For example, says Niche.com founder and CEO Luke Skurman, diversity on campus emerged as a high priority among millennials on the college hunt; it now ranks as a significant factor as the same age group chooses where they will live.

The cities and neighborhoods that appear on this ranking may raise eyebrows among those who’ve lived in places like New York and Chicago and can readily identify the neighborhoods highlighted as hardly among the most affordable. Skurman stresses that it’s a combination of attributes that make these locales attractive.

“When you look at a city like New York, for example, it may be an expensive place to live, but it does so many other things well,” says Skurman, citing cultural attractions as well as professional opportunities and high paying jobs among some of the considerations that draw droves of grads each year to embark on adult life in one of the most expensive cities on the planet.

Tressler points out that the top three cities for millennials each led the list in at least one factor. Frontrunner New York came in first in shopping, accessibility (transportation), and culture. No. 2 Austin had the highest percentage of the residents ages 25 – 34. No. 3 Washington, D.C. had the population with highest levels of education and income.

But each city had attributes that ranked lower than other locations—New York is famous for sky-high rents even in neighborhoods considered “affordable,” and D.C.’s crime rate is higher than places like Boston and San Diego.

“You have to take it all into account,” says Skurman. “Every city has a strength and every city has a weakness, but these are fantastic places to get going, start jobs, start families.”

Top 10 Cities And Neighborhoods For Millennials:

1. New York, NY

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Greenpoint (Brooklyn)

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 14%

Median Rent: $1,157

Median Income: $31,703

Crime Rate: Low

Representative College: New York University

2. Austin, TX

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: South River City

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 17%

Median Rent: $936

Median Income: $30,816

Crime Rate: Below average

Representative College: University of Texas - Austin

3. Washington, D.C.

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Clarendon (Arlington)

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 15%

Median Rent: $1,353

Median Income: $42,226

Crime Rate: Average

Representative College: Georgetown University

4. Chicago, IL

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Wicker Park

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 14%

Median Rent: $931

Median Income: $30,061

Crime Rate: Average*

Representative College: DePaul University

5. San Francisco, CA

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Cow Hollow

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 15%

Median Rent: $1,344

Median Income: $36,119

Crime Rate: Average

Representative College: University of San Francisco

6. Boston, MA

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Spring Hill (Somerville)

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 13%

Median Rent: $1,163

Median Income: $33,659

Crime Rate: Below Average

Representative College: Boston University

7. Denver, CO

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Speer

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 15%

Median Rent: $902

Median Income: $32,422

Crime Rate: Below Average

Representative College: University of Denver

8. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Oak Lawn

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 15%

Median Rent: $874

Median Income: $29,830

Crime Rate: Below Average

Representative College: Southern Methodist University

9. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: North Loop

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 14%

Median Rent: $864

Median Income: $33,511

Crime Rate: Average*

Representative College: University of Minnesota

10. San Diego, CA

Best Neighborhood for Millennials: Little Italy

Percent of Population Age 25 - 34: 15%

Median Rent: $1,261

Median Income: $30,196

Crime Rate: Low

Representative College: University of San Diego

 To view the full list of the 25 Best Cities and Neighborhoods for Millennials, click here.

Millennials, what do you think? Should your city or neighborhood be on the list? Are there other factors that should be taken into consideration? Tell us in the comments section.

Follow me on Twitter @KathrynDill.