Americans are moving less, thanks to a stagnant labor market and a near-frozen housing market.
But 20-somethings are bucking that trend, a new report shows, and those younger people are moving for reasons both new and familiar.
The report comes from the Bank of America Institute, and it’s based on data from millions of bank customer accounts. Over the past three years, it shows, Americans are moving far less frequently.
That’s especially true for millennials (those born between 1978 and 1995) and members of Gen X, who were born between 1965 and 1977.
Where Gen Z Is Going — and Why
But Americans born after 1996, known as Gen Z, are moving more than in 2023, “making them the most resilient cohort when it comes to relocating,” wrote Joe Wadford, an economist at the Bank of America Institute and the report’s lead author.
Some of the most popular destinations for Gen Z movers are Denver, Minneapolis, Austin, and Philadelphia. What’s notable about those metros is that they may not necessarily have the strongest economies. Denver and Minneapolis, for example, both had declines in the number of jobs created in January, Wadford noted.
“This suggests factors besides the labor market (e.g., culture, environment) may attract some young people to certain cities,” he wrote.
Yet some of the places that have drawn young people throughout the ages are still a draw as of early 2026.
New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose all attracted increasing numbers of Gen Z movers, even as more Gen Xers and boomers moved out than moved in.
Just like previous generations, Gen Z members are probably attracted to the dynamism and opportunity in such places — enough to offset their higher cost of living. Older Americans, in contrast, may be looking for less expensive metros as they age and retire, Wadford wrote.
Where Gen X and Boomers Are Heading
Among the areas where older generations were more likely to relocate, several, including Austin, San Antonio, and Raleigh, boast warmer climates. Gen X and boomers have been leaving expensive areas that also happen to have colder climates, such as New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Portland.
“Americans, broadly speaking, are settling in place,” concluded a release accompanying the report.
