With staggering student loans, fewer affordable starter homes and lower earnings than the previous generation, young adults own fewer homes than ever. Considering the reputation millennials have in the media for poor financial skills — avocado toast, anyone? — it’s no surprise the millennial generation is very slowly entering the home buying market. Although millennials are the largest generation of adults, they only account for 7.5% of the value of all U.S. homes.
ABODO, an apartment listing company, analyzed the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas by population from the U.S. Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey to find the highest and lowest percentage of all millennial householders who are owners.
Home buying among adults ages 18 to 35 has slowed. In 2005, 39.5% of this age group owned homes. That share fell to 32.1% in 2015. (Remember, when buying a home, your credit plays a major part. Before stepping into the home buying market and searching for a mortgage, it’s a good idea to check your credit. You can see a free snapshot of your credit reports on Credit.com.)
This trend might reverse. Recently, more millennials have been entering the home-buying market. Only time will tell if this trend will stick, but for now, here are the 10 cities millennials are buying homes — and the 10 where they aren’t.
Cities Where Millennials Are Buying Homes
10. St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois
Millennial Home Ownership: 40.2%
9. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan
Millennial Home Ownership: 40.2%
8. Boise City, Idaho
Millennial Home Ownership: 40.6%
7. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Millennial Home Ownership: 41.0%
6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Millennial Home Ownership: 41.9%
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin
Millennial Home Ownership: 42.4%
4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Millennial Home Ownership: 43.3%
3. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
Millennial Home Ownership: 43.6%
2. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan
Millennial Home Ownership: 45.3%
1. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
Millennial Home Ownership: 51.0%
Cities Where Millennials Aren’t Buying Homes
10. Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Millennial Home Ownership: 25.2%
9. Madison, Wisconsin
Millennial Home Ownership: 24.7%
8. New Haven-Milford, Connecticut
Millennial Home Ownership: 24.4%
7. Fresno, California
Millennial Home Ownership: 23.6%
6. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
Millennial Home Ownership: 20.5%
5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
Millennial Home Ownership: 20.2%
4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania
Millennial Home Ownership: 19.8%
3. San Diego-Carlsbad, California
Millennial Home Ownership: 19.8%
2. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
Millennial Home Ownership: 18.3%
1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
Millennial Home Ownership: 17.8%
