Gen Z Is Flooding Into Texas: Young Demo Moving Here in Nation-Leading Numbers

The next moving van swinging around a corner near you may be racing to bring an out-of-state young future along for the ride.

Texas is America’s No. 1 state by far in attracting Gen Z out-of-state movers, according to a new analysis by real estate marketplace Zillow.

Nearly 80,000 extra Gen Z adults in 2022 alone

In 2022, the Lone Star State had a net migration of +76,805 Gen Z adults.

California ranked No. 2 in attracting Gen Z-ers, gaining far fewer—less than 44,000—from other states in 2022. That’s despite the Golden State losing 215,000 movers overall that year.

Florida, North Carolina, and Washington rounded out the Top 5 in Gen Z attracters.

The states that attracted Gen Z the least in 2022? That would be Michigan, Maryland, and Idaho. And Michigan was the only state in the U.S. “where more Gen Z movers departed than arrived” in 2022, Zillow says. Maybe they don’t like Wolverines?

Narrowed Gen Z adults to those born from 1996 to 2004

Gen Z is typically defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, currently 12- to 27-year-olds. But to reach its findings for this report, Zillow said it analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey and defined Gen Z as those born between 1996 and 2004 to narrow the demo to “Gen Z adults.”

To avoid capturing temporarily moving college students, Zillow’s statistics exclude respondents who reported attending school in the past three months.

“Compared to all interstate movers, Gen Z adults who moved to California, Washington, Colorado, or Virginia were more likely to have a four-year college degree, more likely to be serving in the military, and more likely to work in tech, ACS data shows,” Edward Berchick, a principal population scientist at Zillow, said in a statement. “Gen Z movers are likely drawn to the job opportunities in these states, despite the higher costs of housing. They may also be in a stage of life where they’re willing and able to be flexible in their standards of living while starting their careers.”

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