Killeen gives Austin a run for its money among relocating millennials, study finds

Killeen and Austin were two of the top 10 destinations chosen by millennials who moved in 2022.
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San Antonio Express-News
By Annasofia Scheve
November 25, 2023

Austin may be growing like a weed, but Central Texas' Killeen has a bigger draw for millennials, according to a new survey. 

Killeen was the eighth-most-moved-to city in the nation in 2022 among this set, according to a study by SmartAsset that defined millennials as adults ages 24 to 44. That's according not to gross numbers of young newcomers but to the percentage of the city's population for which they account.

Just over 16,850 millennials moved to Killeen in 2022, making up 10.8 percent of the city's population, according to SmartAsset. Out of the 20 cities on the list, Killeen had the second-lowest median age, at 30.4 years.

Austin drew over 103,460 millennials, making up 10.7 percent of the capital's population. Austin had one of the highest concentrations of millennials overall, at about 40 percent of its population.

Killeen and Austin were the only two Texas cities to make the list. The top three cities for relocating millennials were Cambridge, Mass.; Santa Clara, Calif.; and Seattle.

Relocated millennials as % of pop.

• 14.74% — Cambridge, Mass.
• 13.26% — Santa Clara, Calif.
• 12.54% — Seattle, Wash.
• 12.53% — Sunnyvale, Calif.
• 12.11% — Denver, Colo.
• 11.54% — Arlington, Va.
• 11.31% — Bellevue, Wash.
• 10.81% — Killeen, Texas
• 10.71% — Austin, Texas
• 10.49% — Sandy Springs, Ga.
• 10.45% — Savannah, Ga.
• 10.05% — Boulder, Colo.
• 9.85% — Alexandria, Va.
• 9.79% — Columbia, S.C.
• 9.76% — Washington, D.C.
• 9.52% — Portland, Ore.
• 9.47% — Tempe, Ariz.
• 9.37% — Boston, Mass.
• 9.35% — Nashville, Tenn.
• 9.20% — Clarksville, Tenn.