Generation Y Will Help Drive the Economy. So Where Are They?
By Peter Francese
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Suppose we could bet states as if they were horses engaged in a decade-long economic race. How would you place your bets? Well one way to evaluate a states prospects might be to look at the number of millennials aged 25 to 34 that were there in 2010. One way to pick states with high economic prospects is to look at how many 25- to 34-year-olds each state has numerically and in relation to a national average and how fast that cohort is growing.
This age group is critical to a states future because they represent the next wave of new families new home buyers and big spenders.
Over the next 10 years they will move into the 35 to 44 age cohort and increase their average household spending by 23 a jump of more than $10000 per household according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Horses need to be bigger than ponies so we set a minimum threshold of 200000 millennials aged 25 to 34 years old a minimum growth rate of 9 since 2000 and an index higher than the 100 nationwide.
The 10 states that meet that criteria are listed below.
Three stand out:
- Texas with 3.6 million 25- to 34-year olds up 14 since 2000;
- Washington with nearly 1 million up 11; and
- Colorado with 0.73 million up 9.
Each of those states indexes above 104 has a diverse population as well as a diverse economy and may have the best prospects in the race to 2020.
Which states have a low index and have the highest percentage loss of millennials aged 25 to 34 since 2000? All nine Northeastern states plus Michigan and Ohio.
