The cities favored by wealthy young adults are heavy with high-paying, professional jobs (and those tech stocks don’t hurt, either).
Much has been said about millennials struggling to save up for a down payment, and suffering the lingering financial effects of graduating from college during the Great Recession.
But not everyone in the 22-34 age group is scraping by. Whether they made their money lobbying lawmakers at the Capitol or cashed in on a tech IPO, rich millennials are clustered in cities where there are lots of high-paying professional jobs. Tech hubs made the list, but young people are doing well in older job markets, too.
Here are cities where the largest percentage of millennial-led households made more than $350,000 a year.
- Arlington, VA. 8.7 percent of millennials in this DC suburb made more than $350,000 — a bigger share than the percentage of people 55 and older making that kind of bank. (7.9 percent of those 55 and older made more than $350,000.) Median home value: $607,100 Median rent: $2,690.
- San Francisco. San Francisco is synonymous with high-paying tech jobs and a tight housing supply, and 7.8 percent of the city’s millennials make more than $350,000. On the flip side, the median rent is more than $4,500. Median home value: $1,130,400 Median rent: $4,542.
- Huntington Beach, CA. This famous Orange County surf city is next door to high-paying asset-management firms in Newport Beach, and just over 5 percent of millennials who live there made more than $350,000. Median home value: $733,200 Median rent: $2,902.
- (tie) Sunnyvale, CA. A Silicon Valley hot spot, with a median home value of $1.3 million. Of Sunnyvale millennials, 3.9 percent made more than $350,000. Median home value: $1.1376 million Median rent: $3,877.
- (tie) Seattle, WA. Seattle is experiencing its own tech boom, with quickly rising rents and home values, and 3.9 percent of millennials making more than $350,000. Median home value: $533,000 Median rent: $2,364.
- Pasadena, CA. Baby Boomers are even more likely than millennials to be rich in this haven for old L.A. money. Of millennials there, 3.3 percent made more than $350,000. Median home value: $714,300 Median rent: $2,619.
- Denver, CO. Few housing markets are as hot as in Denver, where an influx of energy, finance, and tech jobs have attracted young people to high-paid positions. About 3 percent of them made more than $350,000. Median home value: $331,100 Median rent: $1,942.
- Cambridge, MA. While it’s true that 2.9 percent of millennials are making big money in Cambridge, thanks to tech and biotech jobs, they aren’t the only ones. About 7.7 percent of those 55 and older are making more than $350,000. Median home value: $644,400 Median rent: $2,604.
- (tie) Washington, D.C. Power resides in the nation’s capital, and so does money. Of millennials there, 2.8 percent are bringing home more than $350,000 a year. And that’s half the percentage of wealthy people aged 55-plus in Washington. Median home value: $499,300 Median rent: $2,534.
- (tie) New York, NY. New York is home to opportunities for millennials who flock there for the city’s finance industry. The country’s biggest job market — along with inherited wealth and old money — helped 2.8 percent of young people living there make more than $350,000 a year. It’s slightly more likely you’ll have that kind of money — and still live in the city — if you’re young than if you’re older than 55. Median home value: $612,400 Median rent: $2,336.
- 9. Oakland, CA. Across the bay from San Francisco, Oakland made the top 10, illustrating how wealth spreads from one city to the next. In Oakland, 2.6 percent of millennials made more than $350,000. Median home value: $586,800 Median rent: $2,707.
- Jersey City, N.J. Jersey City is near enough to New York to commute by train to Wall Street, and home to banks and other high-paying employers, boosting 2.2 percent of millennials who live there into an annual income of more than $350,000. Median home value: $345,800 Median rent: $2,180.
For this analysis, Zillow used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey, made available by the University of Minnesota, IPUMS-USA to find the percentage of households headed by someone under 34 with a household income of more than $350,000. For more about the methodology, check out Zillow Research.
