Austin is inching back up the list as a top destination for millennial movers, a new migration report has confirmed.
The Texas Capital ranked as the sixth-most popular U.S. city for millennials in SmartAsset's annual report, "Where Millennials Are Moving – 2026 Study."
The report calculated the percentage of the total population represented by millennials (people aged 25-44) in more than 250 of the largest U.S. cities. Then it ranked the cities by the rate of millennials who moved there in 2024 (the year with the most recent available data), also as a percentage of the total population. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1-Year American Community Survey.
Austin's popularity among millennials has improved since 2025 when the city ranked as the No. 9 most popular destination.
According to the data, 10.57 percent of Austin's total population were millennial transplants that arrived in the city in 2024. That means more than 105,000 Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 packed up and moved to Austin that year.
To zoom out on the city's greater millennial population, there are currently more than 393,600 millennials who call Austin home. These individuals make up nearly 40 percent of the city's entire population, the study found.
SmartAsset also broke down how many millennial transplants arrived in Austin from elsewhere in Travis County, a different Texas county, a different state altogether, and another country:
- Moved in from same county: 59,619 people
- Moved in from different county in same state: 21,169 people
- Moved in from a different state: 16,429 people
- Moved in from abroad: 7,873 people
Millennials make up about
36 percent of the American workforce, the report noted, so it's likely not a surprise that many of them would choose to live in a city like Austin that has a big
startup culture, an abundance of
career opportunities, and a generally young population.
"With more flexibility than ever due to remote work and rapidly developing technologies, many Millennial households opt to move locations in pursuit of job opportunities, higher pay, preferable lifestyles, and family considerations, among other reasons," the report's author wrote.
The study proposed that U.S. cities that are successful in attracting newcomers within the 25-44 age group may see some benefits from "stronger and more diverse workforces, disposable income flowing to local businesses, and additional tax revenue." Yet it also warned that an influx of transplants can result in greater competition in a city's housing market and "a change in the business mix for preexisting locals."
The top 10 most popular destinations for millennials on the move in 2026 are:
- No. 1 – Cambridge, Massachusetts
- No. 2 – Seattle, Washington
- No. 3 – Sunnyvale, California
- No. 4 – Orlando, Florida
- No. 5 – Arlington, Virginia
- No. 6 – Austin, Texas
- No. 7 – Bellevue, Washington
- No. 8 – Sandy Springs, Georgia
- No. 9 – Denver, Colorado
- No. 10 – Santa Clara, California
