South Carolina is the most popular state among Gen Zers moving across state lines, according to a new study by personal finance app LendingTree, with more than 60,000 aged 18 and above relocating to the Palmetto State in 2024. The state also saw 37,380 Gen Z adults moving out in the same year, but this outward movement still left South Carolina with the biggest net gain of Gen Zers in the nation with a total of 22,843. For the purpose of the study, adult members of Gen Z are defined as those aged between 18 and 27 in 2024.
Only five other states and the District of Columbia had net gains of at least 10,000 Gen Z adults, led by Missouri (14,063), Washington, D.C. (13,905), Tennessee (13,537) and Arizona (12,593). On the opposite end was California, with the biggest net loss at 58,109. That does not mean the Golden State is not popular with the youth.
An estimated 128,718 Gen Zers moved into California in 2024, second only to Texas. But more moved out of the state than moved in, with 186,827 Gen Zers leaving California in 2024—more than any other state. The vast majority were relocating to Texas, with 19,287 Gen Z adults moving to the Lone Star State.
But it is more of a swap than an exodus. According to LendingTree, 13,362 Gen Zers moved from Texas to California in the same year. Texas, however, is ultimately winning the popularity game among Gen Zers as the state boasted a net gain of 5,925 Gen Z adults, while California lost just as many.
Meanwhile, California’s loss is eye-catching, but it shouldn’t be treated as a final verdict on the state. This is a snapshot of a generation still figuring out where it wants to put down roots.” New Jersey had the second-largest decline, losing a net 37,556 Gen Z adults, followed by Illinois, which recorded a net loss of 20,031. LendingTree’s analysis of U.S.
Census Bureau data found that 10.7 million of America’s 44.6 million adult Gen Zers moved to another state or the District of Columbia in 2024, equivalent to 23.9 percent of the generation’s adult population. It is a massive movement of people, representing a generation coming of age and looking for their place in the world—where to live, where to study, where to work and eventually form a family. The figures show how much more mobile Gen Z is than older Americans.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
