California Sheds Gen Z Residents as South Carolina, Texas Gain, Report Says

California lost more adult members of Generation Z to other states than anywhere else in the country in 2024, a new analysis found.

About 186,800 people ages 18 to 27 moved out of California during the year while roughly 128,700 moved in, online loan marketplace LendingTree said in a report released this week. That left the Golden State with a net loss of some 58,100 Gen Z adults.

Texas emerged as the top destination for Gen Z Californians looking elsewhere. An estimated 19,287 moved from California to Texas, while 13,362 moved the opposite way, giving Lone Star State a net gain of nearly 6,000 young adults from that migration corridor alone.

California’s loss was by far the largest in the nation. New Jersey ranked second with a net loss of 37,556 Gen Z adults, followed by Illinois at 20,031, Minnesota at 13,827, and Massachusetts at 10,038.

The figures are based on LendingTree’s analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. The Census Bureau defines Gen Z as people born between 1997 and 2012.

South Carolina Posts Biggest Gain

While California reported the largest net loss, South Carolina recorded the biggest Gen Z gain.

About 60,200 Gen Z adults moved into South Carolina and 37,400 left, resulting in a net increase of 22,843.

Missouri followed with a net gain of 14,063, while the District of Columbia added 13,905, Tennessee gained 13,537, and Arizona added 12,593. Texas recorded a net gain of 10,720 Gen Z adults overall.

Relative to its existing Gen Z adult population, the District of Columbia experienced the largest increase. Its net interstate migration gain was equal to 12.3 percent of its Gen Z adult population.

North Dakota ranked second at 5.4 percent, followed by Vermont at 3.8 percent.

California’s net loss, by contrast, represented about 1.1 percent of its Gen Z adult population.

Gen Z More Likely to Move

Young adults were far more likely than older generations to cross state lines.

Of the 44.6 million Gen Z adults living in the United States in 2024, an estimated 10.7 million had moved to another state or the District of Columbia during the previous year, according to LendingTree.

By comparison, 14 percent of millennials moved across state lines, along with 7.2 percent of members of Generation X and 5.2 percent of baby boomers.

Higher education appears to account for a substantial portion of that mobility. LendingTree found that 38.1 percent of Gen Z adults who moved between states were enrolled in college during 2024.

The cost of living may also be influencing where young Americans choose to move.

Several states that posted some of the largest net losses of Gen Z adults, including California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, ranked among the most expensive states to live in 2024, according to Forbes.

By contrast, several states with some of the largest Gen Z gains, including South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas, ranked closer to the more affordable end of the cost-of-living spectrum.

South Carolina and Texas also ranked among the strongest states for housing affordability and new home construction in Realtor.com’s 2024 State Report Cards, while California received one of the lowest overall scores.