Top 5 States Where Rich Millennials Are Buying Homes, According to Real Estate Agents
Rich millennials generally want to live in places with zero state income tax and deep tech and finance job markets. That’s according to real estate agents who shared why some states across the country are attracting these homebuyers.
“The common thread isn't the ZIP code, it's the tax bill,” said Andrew Lokenauth, founder of Fluent in Finance. “A millennial earning $300,000 a year saves real money, often $15,000 to $25,000 a year, just by living somewhere with no state income tax instead of California or New York. Over a decade, that's a down payment on a second home. I'd tell any high earning millennial to run that math before falling in love with a city.”
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Read on for a look at the top five states drawing in rich millennials and why these are such attractive locations.
1. Florida
According to several real estate agents who talked to MoneyLion, Florida continues to show up as one of the most attractive states for wealthy millennial buyers because it checks several boxes at once.
“Florida has no state income tax, strong lifestyle appeal, a warm climate, quick access to the water essentially anywhere in the state, a booming business environment and truly so much more,” explained Chris Wands, founder of The Wands Team at Douglas Elliman. “The list goes on and on. For affluent millennials, the tax environment is probably one of the biggest parts of the conversation.”
Per Wands, a lot of these buyers are entrepreneurs, finance professionals, tech executives, private equity professionals or people with a significant amount of equity or investment income. They’re thinking about where their money is going to work the hardest for them and Florida’s no-income-tax structure is a real draw.
2. Texas
While the most popular destinations in Texas may be Austin and the Dallas area, there are other places in the state drawing rich millennials for a variety of reasons.
“Texas is getting lots of wealthy tech executives and corporate leaders,” said Greg Field, real estate agent at HomeSmart Realty Pros. “Texas has an outstanding housing construction rate and this makes it possible to satisfy the needs of buyers impatient to wait for the inventory.”
3. North Carolina
“Buyers with good paying healthcare and finance jobs choose Charlotte and Research Triangle. This is more of a calculated move for families who are thinking about establishing,” Field said.
Overall, experts pointed to affordability and opportunity as some of the top reasons rich millennials are focusing on North Carolina for their next moves.
4. Colorado
If you’re an affluent millennial with a high income and high interest in physical activities like mountain biking, hiking or just outdoor exercises, you may want to consider Colorado locations such as Denver and Colorado Springs.
“Colorado belongs on any list of states where affluent millennials are buying and I'd point specifically to the mountain-resort markets like Summit County,” said Natalia Bassova, real estate agent and owner of Resort Real Estate Inc. “Their decision to buy a home is based on the value proposition of both the financial aspect and the lifestyle. As more and more people begin working remotely or even just doing hybrid work, it has allowed some of this age group to now afford to spend significant amounts of time in places they previously would have visited."
5. Arizona
According to Field, it’s clear that the mountain west migration is going on now in Phoenix metro.
“There is high demand from the high-income population in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Peoria,” he said. “Rich people are trying to escape brutal winters of the mountain states to come to the desert.”
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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