2020 has brought a lot of challenges, changes and trends.
One of the most noticeable trends is the movement of people – specifically Millennials and Gen-Z.
According to Business Insider, there’s been a noticeable migration among people ages 25 to 34 from urban areas to suburban areas.
The study from investment management firm Cowen and Company shows among the 2,700 people Cowen surveyed, 48% of Millennials reported living in the suburbs compared with 44% in 2019.
Those who reported living in cities fell to 35%, down from 38% last year.
Cowen saw a similar trend among Generation Z respondents, or those aged 18-24: 49% reported living in the suburbs, up from 41% in 2019.
However, the change might not be solely a product of the pandemic.
An example of this can be seen in New York City.
People are leaving the big apple for nearby cities and towns like Newark, New Jersey. Rents there were up 15%.
A Cowan analyst says this suburbanization trend has been slowly occurring since 2017, and it was merely accelerated by Covid-19.
In fact, home ownership is rising among both Gen Z and Millennials, Cowen found: 30% of 18- to 24-year-olds say they own their homes, up from 19% last year and 48% of Millennials say they’re home-owners, a 1% increase since 2019.
Even more evidence of this comes from a Pew Research study from July found that showed one in five Americans moved during the pandemic or knows someone who did.
Relocation was particularly high among young adults: 37% of people 18 to 29 said they had moved, had someone move into their house, or knew someone who had moved.
Pew Research found the majority of those people who relocated said it was because they wanted to reduce their risk of contracting the virus.