Millennials living in Michigan might find a better quality of life in another state, says a study ranking the best states for the generation to reside.
WalletHub, a personal finance company, ranked every state to determine which are the best for millennials.
Michigan ranked at number 24 on the list out of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
The study analyzed five important factors for millennials to determine the rankings: affordability, education and health, quality of life, economic health and civic engagement.
How did Michigan score?
The analysis ranked all 50 states plus the District of Columbia based on the most important factors for millennials. Each state was given a separate ranking out of 51 for each of the five categories:
Michigan’s rankings
- Affordability: 3
- Education and health: 20
- Quality of life: 35
- Economic health: 42
- Civic engagement: 13
Overall, Michigan ranked highly for affordability. But unfortunately for millennials, the state’s quality of life and economic health rank near the bottom.
WalletHub also looked at individual categories like the percentage of millennials who own homes in each state and millennial unemployment rates.
In those individual categories, Michigan came in fifth for the most affordable housing prices.
Top five states across the county for millennials
Washington took home the gold in the WalletHub rankings for the best state for millennials. Its excellent quality of life and economic health helped place it at the top.
Here are WalletHub’s top five states across the country for millennials:
- Washington
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts
- Utah
- Illinois
How the rankings were decided
The five key factors–affordability, education and health, quality of life, economic health, and civic engagement–were broken down using 34 metrics which were then weighed.
For example, in the affordability category, WalletHub used data on the cost of living, the average monthly earnings for millennials, the annual cost of childcare and the average price of a Starbucks latte.
The data come from a range of sources. Some of the metrics come from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while other information was gleaned from fast food menu prices.
For a full breakdown of the process used to create the rankings, visit WalletHub’s methodology section.
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