Millennials relocate to Seattle and Bellevue

Millennials are on the move. According to a SmartAsset analysis of 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data, Seattle and Bellevue are among the top 10 most popular living destinations for millennials. During 2022, 1 in 4 people aged 25 to 44 years changed their address to a new city – and a significant number headed for these two large Puget Sound cities.

By the numbers, more than 93,000 millennials moved to Seattle in 2022, which is 12.5% of the city’s population. Bellevue welcomed 17,131 millennials, or 11.31% of its population. The cities ranked third and seventh, respectively, out of the 268 U.S. cities that were analyzed based on the percentage of total population newly situated millennials comprise.

The Seattle-Bellevue metro area added 127,000 information and tech industry jobs between 2020 and 2022, making our region especially attractive to millennials on the move. In addition to fulfilling jobs in large tech companies and innovative startups, the millennial migration impacts local small businesses, housing markets and social dynamics. It also counters the steady aging of Washington’s population, which had actually led to a decline in the state’s labor force compared to its pre-pandemic high.

The W Report, Dec 19, 2023