SmartAsset’s latest study looks at which cities and states in the U.S. are seeing the biggest influx of Millennials moving to them. And can you guess the most popular destination for Millennials in Arizona?

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Key findings

  • Tempe is the top city to which Millennials in Arizona are moving. Relative to the local population, the one-year influx of Millennials to Tempe is 9%  — a total of 17,134 people.
  • After Tempe, the second biggest destination for Millennials in Arizona is Scottsdale, while the least popular is Goodyear.
  • Nationwide, Oxnard, California was the least popular destination city for Millennial migration in the last year measured, white Cambridge, Massachusetts was the most popular. 

Millennials now make up an estimated 36% of the workforce, making this cohort highly valuable to any local economy. With more flexibility than ever due to remote work and rapidly developing technologies, many Millennial households opt to move locations in pursuit of job opportunities, higher pay, preferable lifestyles, and family considerations, among other reasons. Locations that can attract Millennials may benefit from stronger and more diverse workforces, disposable income flowing to local businesses, and additional tax revenue. On the other hand, it can also lead to more competitive housing markets and a change in the business mix for preexisting locals.

With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked 254 of the largest U.S. cities based on the relative popularity among Millennials (those aged 25 to 44) who moved to that city in 2024.

Key findings nationally

  • Cambridge, MA is the most popular destination for Millennial transplants. A whopping 11.86% of Cambridge’s population in 2024 was a Millennial who arrived that year. Last year, Cambridge ranked as the second most popular with 12.15% of the population being new Millennial transplants. In all, Cambridge’s population jumped to 41.4% being between the ages of 25 and 44 in 2024, when it was just 34.75% a year earlier.
  • Seattle, WA has the largest Millennial population. An estimated 43.4% of Seattle’s population are Millennials, or just over 335,000 individuals. Seattle ranked second this year for the biggest injection of Millennial transplants, with 11.49% of the population in 2024 represented by these fresh movers. 
  • Hollywood, FL was most popular for Millennials migrating to the U.S. According to the latest data, 2.27% of Hollywood’s population moved in from abroad over just one year, the highest nationwide. The city was less attractive for domestic Millennials, ranking 114th overall in popularity. Cambridge, MA (1.60%) and Plano, TX (1.55%) had the next highest migration from international Millennials in 2024.
  • These cities are least popular among Millennials. Oxnard, CA has the lowest frequency of Millennials moving in at just 2.50% of the total population. Elk Grove, CA (2.72%); Spring Hill, FL (2.77%); Lowell, MA (2.78%); and Brownsville, TX (2.79%) also saw among the lowest inflows of this cohort. In total, the cities with the relatively fewest Millennials are Cape Coral, FL (21.4%); Provo, UT (21.7%); and The Woodlands, TX (22.9%).