Boomers and Millennials are flocking to Florida, but Gen Z is staying away. Here’s why.
The average age of Florida’s residents could be getting higher, according to data from H&R Block’s “Outlook on American Life” report and a recent study on Gen Z’s migration habits from Hubscore.
H&R Block’s October report revealed that most of the American middle class is made up of Millennials and Baby Boomers who are choosing to swap cold and crowded cities for warmer places, like Florida.
Just a few months earlier, in June, six Florida cities made it onto the U.S. News and World Report's 2023-2024 list of best places for young professionals to live. But according to data and marketing automation platform Hubscore's recent study, Gen Z is not gravitating toward Florida or any other southern states for their post-grad plans.
Here’s a list of which states Gen Zers are moving to and why they aren’t choosing Florida, according to Hubscore's findings.
Which states are Gen Z moving to?
The study compared all 50 states using metrics for these four categories:
Quality of Life: Bars and clubs, promoters and performing arts providers, nature parks per capita, restaurants per capita, theaters per capita, Gen Z population, museums per capita, safety index score, air quality index.
Wellness: Fitness and sports centers per capita, mental health providers, teen alcohol use, teen drug use, teen obesity, teen smoking
Work and Education: Unemployment rate, median internet speed, high school completion, education quality index, Gen Z median hourly earnings, household income for individuals under 25, college enrollment per capita, job growth, job openings
Affordability: Transportation cost, median rent, grocery cost, cost of living, utility cost index
“Upper Midwest tends to have a stronger showing among the favorable states for Gen Z with Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin scoring highly,” Hubscore’s study said.
“This could be attributed to better healthcare accessibility, strong educational institutions, and a generally robust infrastructure.”
Here are the five most popular states to move to among Gen Z, according to Hubscore’s data:
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Washington
Utah
Montana
Florida didn’t make the top 50% on this list, ranking all the way down in 30th place.
Where does Gen Z not want to live?
No southern states made the top 20 on this list. The southernmost states in the top 20 are Colorado and Utah. Virginia and Pennsylvania slide in at the 21st and 22nd rankings, respectively.
North Carolina (26th) and Florida (30th) are the only two southern states to make the list before Texas, which is the 35th choice for Gen Z on this list. And Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi took the bottom five.
Why isn’t Generation Z moving to the south?
According to this study, the cost of living doesn’t play a huge role in where Gen Z is deciding to settle down. Almost all of the states in the bottom 10 rankings scored very well in the affordability category, but low for quality of life, wellness and work and education.
“Southern states score least favorably. This is indicative of challenges such as lower youth employment rates, a lack of access to broadband necessary for the digitally-connected Gen Z, and less inclusivity,” Hubscore’s study said.
“States with a higher focus on outdoor activities such as Utah, Colorado, and Minnesota are faring better with Gen Z, possibly signifying this generation's inclination towards work-life balance and a healthier lifestyle.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Boomers, Millennials love Florida. Generation Z doesn't, study says
