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When millennials look places to settle down, many are setting their sights on California.
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In recent years, the Golden State has become a major hub for millennial homebuyers seeking sunny weather, career opportunities and a higher quality of life.
Four California cities ranked among the U.S. metropolitan areas that saw the biggest gains in millennial homeowners in recent years, according to a new study by RentCafe.
The apartment search platform analyzed more than 100 metropolitan areas across the United States to determine which saw the most significant gains in millennial homeowners and renters.
“Millennials …. now clearly show a preference for certain homebuying hotspots,” Alexandra Both, senior real estate writer and research analyst with RentCafe, wrote in a July 15 article.
Here’s which California metro areas are leading the trend:
How many millennials own homes in the US? Rent?
Homeownership is a goal shared by a growing number of millennials, defined by the Pew Research Center as people born between 1981 and 1996.
Nationwide, approximately 5.3 million millennials became homeowners between 2018 and 2023, bringing the total to 12.4 million households, according to RentCafe.
That marked a 74% increase in millennial-owned households across the United States.
Millennial homeowners now outnumber renters in about three out of four metro areas favored by Generation Y, RentCafe said.
However, millennial homeowners have yet to completely outnumber millennial renters, who account for nearly 12.6 million households in the nation.
The number of millennial renters in the United States rose by 5% from 2018 to 2023, RentCafe found, an increase of roughly 600,000 households.
Why are millennials buying more homes in California?
According to RentCafe, small and mid-sized cities in California and Florida saw the most significant increases in millennials buying homes.
“What do all of these places have in common?” Both asked. “More affordable home prices, manageable inflation, strong income growth and a higher quality of life.”
Smaller metro areas also benefited from COVID-19 pandemic-driven migration patterns, RentCafe said, as millennials moved away from major cities in search of remote work opportunities and more physical space.
According to Veronica Grecu, a senior writer and research analyst at RentCafe, homeownership is on the rise among older members of Generation Y.
“Many younger millennials had previously delayed buying a home due to student debt and high costs,” she said. “Now they’re finding options that fit their budgets in a handful of affordable oases, like Stockton and Fresno, where housing costs are below the state average.”
What are top California markets for millennial homeowners?
Stockton took fourth place on RentCafe’s list of the U.S. metro areas that saw the highest gains in millennial homeowners.
The Central Valley city saw a 117% increase in millennial homeownership over a five-year period, growing from 17,333 households owned by millennials in 2018 to 37,711 in 2023.
Oxnard, which placed fifth on RentCafe’s list, logged a 113% gain in millennial homeowners over the same five-year period.
The Ventura County city had 29,607 households owned by millennials in 2023, RentCafe said, compared to 13,840 in 2018
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Two other California cities ranked among the top 20 metro areas with the biggest spikes in millennials buying homes.
Fresno ranked 12th in the nation with a 104% increase in millennial homeownership over a five-year period.
San Diego rounded out the top 20 with an 88% gain in millennial homeownership from 2018 to 2023.
Which U.S. cities attracted most millennial homeowners?
According to RentCafe, these U.S. cities experienced the largest growth in millennial homeowners between 2018 and 2023:
- North Port, Florida
- Lakeland, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Stockton
- Oxnard
- Palm Bay, Florida
- Austin, Texas
- Tucson, Arizona
- Deltona, Florida
- San Antonio, Texas.
Which California cities have the most millennial renters?
According to RentCafe, “coastal powerhouses” such as San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles have the highest concentrations of millennial renters.
In these major metro areas, the study found, “soaring home prices and limited housing supply continue to outpace even strong income growth.”
Los Angeles topped RentCafe’s list of the U.S. metro areas with the highest concentrations of millennial renters.
About 70% of millennials in the City of Angels rent rather than own property, the study found.
San Jose had the second highest share of millennial renters, 65%, while San Diego took third place with 64%
Four California cities earned places among the top 20 metro areas that have seen the greatest growth in millennial renters.
In Los Angeles, the total number of millennial renter households climbed more than 17% from 771,288 in 2018 to 906,663 in 2023.
San Jose saw a 17% increase in millennial renter households over the same five-year period, going from 118,794 in 2018 to 139,072 in 2023.
The number of millennial households renting in Oxnard increased 15% to 37,737 in 2023.
Riverside’s share of millennial renters grew nearly 14% between 2018 and 2023, totalling 195,734 households.
Which metro areas attracted most millennial renters?
RentCafe said these U.S. cities added the highest shares of millennial renters from 2018 to 2023:
- Orlando
- Lakeland, Florida
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Palm Bay, Florida
- Miami
- McAllen, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Portland, Maine
How did RentCafe rank top markets for millennials?
To better understand millennial renting and homeownership trends, RentCafe said it analyzed 107 metro areas with the largest millennial household populations.
It focused on metropolitan areas with 50,000 or more millennial households in 2023.
RentCafe sourced ownership and rentership data, along with millennial income growth figures, from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
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