2021’s Best & Worst States for Millennials

Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation. Most Millennials were between 12 and 27 during the 2008 election, where the force of the youth vote became part of the political conversation and helped elect the first black president. Most Millennials came of age and entered the workforce facing the height of an economic recession.

Research shows you’re more likely to find Millennial workers in tech than in finance and accounting. Even top MBA grads are increasingly choosing career paths outside of finance. By 2030, the collective annual income of Millennials worldwide is expected to exceed 4 trillion dollars. Currently, 42% of millennials own homes at age 30, whereas 48% of Generation X and 51% of baby boomers were homeowners at the same age. Even though millennial do represent a larger number of home purchases each year -- growing from 34% in 2017 to 38% in 2020. With the high price of house74% of millennials who say they'll always rent signing those rental leases according Apartment List's 2021 Millennial Homeownership Report.

With millennials today making up the largest generation in the U.S. workforce yet struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021's Best & Worst States for Millennials.

In order to determine the most livable places for this generation, they compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 34 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of millennials to average monthly earnings for millennials to millennial unemployment rate.

Best vs. Worst

• The District of Columbia has the highest share of millennials, 31.91 percent, which is 1.8 times higher than in Vermont, the lowest at 17.44 percent.
• North Dakota has the lowest share of millennials living with their parents, 14.13 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in New Jersey, the highest at 45.99 percent.
• Iowa has the highest millennial homeownership rate, 71.85 percent, which is 2.1 times higher than in the District of Columbia, the lowest at 34.83 percent.
• The District of Columbia has the highest average monthly earnings for millennials, $7,496, which is 2.3 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at $3,291.
• North Dakota has the lowest millennial unemployment rate, 2.40 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 8.03 percent.

WalletHub Q & A

How are the financial habits and behaviors of millennials different from older generations?

“Millennials are more creative relative to their approach to investing and income generation than were the more traditional baby boomers,” said Spencer Niles, School of Education – College of William & Mary. “They are more likely to create innovative purpose-driven job opportunities than previous generations. The key in that phrase is “purpose-driven.” Baby boomers aspired to achieve and too often muted the question of purpose in their work. They learned from parents who had experienced WW II and the depression. Work hard, be happy for a job, be loyal to your employer, and strive to climb the “ladder of success.” Many learned that their particular ladder of success was propped up against the wrong wall. Moreover, many who sacrificed so much for their employers learned that their employers were quite willing to sacrifice them. Thus, that model fell apart. Many baby boomers learned that lesson too late in their lives. Millennials, however, pay attention. They see the lack of joy and notice the absence of their working parents. The stress of work-life balance, lack of job security, and financial dept (despite greater income levels) served as clear red flags to millennials. Thus, the elevation of meaning in purpose in the work they seek. Although autonomy is consistently a factor in work satisfaction, that value is even more deeply embedded in millennial workers (and also helped stimulate the gig economy).”

How can state and local authorities attract and retain highly skilled millennial workers?

“I am part of the Government to University (G2U) Alliance that is conducting focus groups with millennials to attract them to public service careers,” said Thomas J. Norman, PhD, California State University, Dominguez. “We have learned that government employers need to improve their social media and employment messaging to meet the needs of college graduates who are more focused on moving into their own place than dreaming of a generous pension and health care benefits. Millennials crave purpose and professional growth which many state and local jobs offer, but their recruiters have not been marketing these job attributes.”

How have the COVID-19 pandemic and the work from home policies impacted the career development and job security of millennial workers?

“Although millennials are tech-savvy and they are completely capable of adapting to new technology, they are much more likely to say they would like to return to the workplace,” said Eddy Ng, Queen's University. “They report feeling more isolated and have a fear of missing out on informal activities and interactions that are important for career advancement and being mentored. See my report here.”

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-millennials/33371

Courtesy: WalletHub