Millennials Yearn For the Cities, Shunning Suburban Living for Urban Convenience

Millennials have already been blamed for killing formal dress, golf, and the McDonald’s premium McWrap — could the suburbs be next? It’s unlikely, but new data from Morning Consult shows that the generation born between 1981 and 1996 is more drawn than past cohorts to urban regions as they become parents and buy homes.

• According to the report, the share of Millennials living in urban areas is now greater than in suburban areas, likely due to the higher cost of homeownership and car ownership.
• In recent years, many young people have shown more interest in being “forever renters” to benefit from walkability and transit access to culture, restaurants, and high-paying jobs.

What’s driving the boom? As quickly as Americans left cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are now returning to denser exurbs and urban cores as companies summon workers back to the office. Morning Consult also credits the “development of second-tier cities such as Austin, Minneapolis, and Nashville” for offering urban pickings at more affordable prices than more populous (and expensive) cities like New York City and San Francisco.