It can be tough to be a millennial.
They want to retire millionaires but are struggling to balance lifestyle costs and financial goals. While many factors can contribute to this, where millennials live can affect how well they can do.
Scholaroo, a college scholarship resource, ranked the best states for millennials — defined as people born between 1981 and 1996 — across the following categories:
- Affordability
- Political and social environment
- Employment
- Quality of life
- Health
- Personal finance
- Safety
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The seven categories were evaluated using 52 metrics graded on a 100-point scale. Metrics included cost of living, homeownership rate, unemployment rate, average income, retirement age and average FICO score.
New York and California might be major work hubs for millennials, but neither state made the top 10.
No. 1 state for millennials in 2023: Minnesota
Money Report
Minnesota was ranked the best state for millennials, with a score of 71.63. It has the second highest millennial homeownership rate, according to Scholaroo — and it netted high personal finance and affordability scores.
The "Land of 10,000 Lakes" was named one of the top states to live and work in CNBC's annual study.
In a WalletHub report from earlier this year, Minnesota was also named the least stressed out state in the country. Residents said they experienced the least amount of money and family-related stress.
Minnesota also had the second highest average hours of sleep per night, right behind Colorado, in the same WalletHub report.
The best states for millennials in 2023
- Minnesota
- Utah
- Massachusetts
- Colorado
- Vermont
- Maine
- Washington
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Iowa
Utah ranked as the second best state for millennials, with a score of 70.51.
Utah also topped the list as the state with the highest employment rate for millennials, and is in the No. 4 spot for personal finance.
Like Minnesota, Utah was recently named one of the least stressed states in America. Utah had the fewest average hours worked per week, one of the lowest percentages of the population living in poverty and the lowest divorce rate in the U.S.
In another WalletHub study from September, Utah was named the happiest state in America and had the highest volunteer rate. Three of its cities were named the most neighborly in the country, in a September ranking from Neighbor.com.
Massachusetts rounded out the top three of the best states for millennials. The state also ranked in the No. 2 spot for health and the No. 6 spot for political and social environment.
A September ranking from Soliant Health named Massachusetts the No. 3 best U.S. state for mental health. "Massachusetts has the highest number of mental health providers per population ratio," the report states, "with one provider for every 145 residents."
The New England state has the highest millennial average income, which makes sense considering that residents are among the highest earners in the country with an average salary of $76,600 a year, slightly higher than the median U.S. household income of $74,580.
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