Posted by: Adam McCann

Loved by marketers yet vilified by media, millennials are at once the most popular and unpopular generation alive. They’re projected to become the largest in 2019, too, giving them a huge influence on American culture and consumption. Today, these early-20-to-early-30-somethings who are often depicted through negative stereotypes — entitled, parentally dependent, emotionally fragile — are responsible for 21 percent of all consumer discretionary spending in the U.S.

Yet despite millennials’ trillion-dollar purchasing power and higher educational attainment, they are economically worse off than their parents. Why? The financial crisis remains a big part of the reason. Millennials have come of age and entered the workforce in the shadow of the Great Recession, which has significantly reduced their job prospects and earning potential for decades to come. By one estimate, millennials today earn 20 percent less than Baby Boomers did at the same age.

But the millennial experience is not the same everywhere. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine where this generational has thrived and struggled. We examined each state and the District across 36 key metrics, ranging from share of millennials to millennial unemployment rate to millennial voter-turnout rate. Read on for the full ranking, commentary from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/33371/geochart-millennials.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2U6izTr>  

Best States for Millennials

Overall Rank (1=Best)	State	Total Score	‘Affordability’ Rank	‘Education & Health’ Rank	‘Quality of Life’ Rank	‘Economic Health’ Rank	‘Civic Engagement’ Rank
1	Massachusetts	66.65	24	1	2	3	16
2	District of Columbia	66.04	30	2	1	11	18
3	Washington	63.48	3	18	9	5	11
4	Minnesota	62.44	7	9	3	10	25
5	Wisconsin	61.78	23	16	6	12	3
6	Colorado	60.78	31	23	5	2	5
7	Iowa	60.42	4	10	14	22	7
8	Utah	57.82	35	13	10	6	30
9	Pennsylvania	57.33	16	15	13	36	9
10	California	56.72	43	12	7	28	22
11	Illinois	56.58	10	11	11	46	17
12	North Dakota	56.49	1	29	8	32	36
13	Vermont	55.39	49	7	16	8	13
14	New York	55.29	29	5	4	37	49
15	Ohio	55.22	8	22	19	35	14
16	Nebraska	54.83	37	21	15	26	6
17	Virginia	54.23	38	19	17	40	2
18	Oregon	53.82	42	33	21	9	4
19	Michigan	53.42	19	20	25	38	15
20	North Carolina	53.15	26	26	32	21	10
21	Connecticut	53.12	32	3	26	39	37
22	Texas	53.07	2	50	12	23	27
23	South Dakota	52.92	21	17	22	29	35
24	New Hampshire	52.70	47	24	23	1	34
25	Indiana	51.73	9	44	29	19	20
26	Missouri	51.53	5	39	18	27	40
27	Tennessee	51.51	6	31	35	14	28
28	Kansas	50.97	20	27	34	33	12
29	New Jersey	50.76	40	6	24	25	46
30	Georgia	50.44	13	30	31	34	24
31	Rhode Island	50.30	50	8	20	13	43
32	Florida	50.09	41	38	28	4	31
33	Arizona	49.46	33	42	27	18	23
34	Maine	49.45	48	25	39	17	1
35	Maryland	47.40	45	14	38	31	39
36	Hawaii	46.08	51	4	33	15	38
37	Wyoming	45.92	11	43	36	44	32
38	Idaho	45.87	34	36	40	30	33
39	Montana	45.70	46	32	30	24	41
40	Alaska	44.12	36	46	37	48	8
41	Delaware	43.94	28	34	44	16	44
42	Alabama	43.43	15	37	49	45	19
43	South Carolina	42.80	27	40	45	20	48
44	Kentucky	42.51	25	28	46	41	42
45	Nevada	42.41	44	45	41	7	50
46	Arkansas	39.71	17	49	47	43	29
47	Louisiana	39.17	12	48	43	50	26
48	Oklahoma	38.80	14	51	42	42	45
49	Mississippi	38.06	22	47	50	49	21
50	New Mexico	36.53	39	41	48	47	47
51	West Virginia	32.37	18	35	51	51	51

 

Ask the Experts

As today’s largest generation in the workforce, millennials’ financial habits have become a topic of interest to researchers and marketers alike. We therefore turned to a panel of experts for their insight on the following key questions:

1. Are millennials more or less financially savvy than other generations?
2. How are the financial habits and behaviors of millennials different from older generations?
3. Are millennials more or less likely to talk about money than other groups?
4. How can state and local authorities attract and retain highly skilled millennial workers?
5. What are the most common mistakes millennials make when starting their careers?

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• Charles H. Fay Professor of Human Resource Management at Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations
• Samara Reynolds Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Richmond
• Mary Roberts Director of the University Career Center at Georgia College
• Dan Gomez-Palacio Director of the Grossnickle Career Services Center at Columbia College Division of Student Affairs
• Ruth Canada Career and Academic Support Services Director at Lincoln University
• Renee Downey Hart Professor of Practice at the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne

Methodology

In order to determine the most livable places for millennials, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Education & Health, 3) Quality of Life, 4) Economic Health and 5) Civic Engagement.

We evaluated those dimensions using 36 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for millennials.

We then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

For the purpose of this study, “millennials” are defined as individuals who were born between 1981 and 1997.

Affordability – Total Points: 22.5

• Cost of Living: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Average Starbucks Latte Price: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Average Monthly Earnings for Millennials: Triple Weight (~9.00 Points)
• Housing Cost for Millennials: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)Note: This is a composite metric of median home price divided by average earnings for millennials and average two-bedroom rent divided by average earnings for millennials.
• Millennial Homeownership Rate: Half Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Annual Cost of Childcare: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)Note: This metric measures the average annual cost of early childcare as a share of average earnings for millennials.

Education & Health – Total Points: 22.5

• Share of Millennials with at Least a High School Diploma: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Insured Millennials: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials with Poor or Fair Health: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials Diagnosed with Depression: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Suicide Death Rate Among Millennials: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Inactive Millennials: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)Note: This metric refers to the share of millennials with no physical activity in the past month.
• Share of Overweight & Obese Millennials: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennial Binge Drinkers: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennial Smokers: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials with No Doctor Visits in the Past Year Due to Cost: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials with No Primary Doctor: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials Who Had a Routine Checkup in the Past Year: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)
• Share of Millennials Who Visited a Dentist in the Past Year: Full Weight (~1.73 Points)

Quality of Life – Total Points: 22.5

• Share of Millennials: Full Weight (~6.43 Points)
• Share of Millennials Living with Their Parents: Half Weight (~3.21 Points)
• Singles-Friendliness: Full Weight (~6.43 Points)Note: Based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States for Singles ranking.
• Family-Friendliness: Full Weight (~6.43 Points)Note: Based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family ranking

Economic Health – Total Points: 22.5

• Share of Millennial Newcomers: Half Weight (~0.98 Points)
• Millennial Population Growth: Double Weight (~3.91 Points)
• Average Earnings Growth for Millennials: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Millennial Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Number of Entry Level Jobs per Number of Millennials: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Job Growth for Millennials (2017 vs 2016): Double Weight (~3.91 Points)
• Average Usual Hours Worked for Millennials: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Median Student-Loan Debt: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)
• Share of Millennials Living in Poverty: Full Weight (~1.96 Points)

Civic Engagement – Total Points: 10

• Millennial Voter Turnout Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: Based on 2016 election data.
• Millennial Volunteer Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• States with Millennials Caucus: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of a millennial caucus in the states.

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• YouTube (for web embedding Massachusetts)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Health Foundation, TransUnion, Corporation for National and Community Service, Indeed, fastfoodmenuprices.com, Status of Women in the States, Millennial Action Project, Child Care Aware of America and WalletHub research.

Image: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com

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