With costs in large cities increasing, Millennials and Generation Z are more interested in buying homes in rural communities
March 14, 2025
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Young people are gravitating to smaller towns that offer affordability and have better outdoor recreational opportunities.
With more job opportunities, larger cities have been known to draw in young adults, but that has changed in recent years. Young adults are increasingly moving to small towns, according to real estate marketing platform Realtor.com. Since 2020, two-thirds of population growth has been concentrated in counties with fewer than one million residents. In comparison, during the past decade, 90% of population growth was concentrated in the largest metro areas with more than four million residents. However, this doesn’t mean young adults will move to any rural town. Millennials and Generation Z have been strategic about where they put down roots. Areas with natural amenities have garnered the most interest from younger generations.
For example, Colorado’s remote Chafee County, located in the Rocky Mountains and boasting a high USDA natural amenity score, has seen its younger workforce double compared with the national rate over the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, counties in Southern Appalachia's coal country, which are low on natural amenities, have experienced a dearth of youth migration.Read more
