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73 February 2025 J O U R N A L February 2025 » The five metro areas where $2,000 rents the least space are San Francisco (565 square feet), New York (581 square feet), Los Angeles (591 square feet), and San Diego (602 square feet). TOP MARKETS TARGETED BY GEN Z HOMEBUYERS T he oldest of Generation Z turns 27 this year. With age comes responsibility—and the urge to nest. Nearly half of Gen Z's 68 million U.S. residents want to buy a home in the next five years per a Realtor.com survey, but what are the best cities for Gen Z homeowners? Currently, more than half of Gen Z live with their families, and 18% own a home or are married to someone who does. Homeowners under age 25 are most concentrated in Tallahassee, Florida, where the median home price is $275,000, and Madison, Wisconsin, where the median home price is $395,000. For the rest of Gen Z ready to become homeowners, MoneyGeek's latest study points them toward the best cities for adults under 25. MoneyGeek analyzed 138 cities with 100,000 or more residents, looking at factors such as young adult income, homeownership rates, and pop- ulation; student loan burdens; and access to food and entertainment. Top Five Cities for Young Adults And the winner is … Salt Lake City. Ski City USA claimed the top spot due to two main factors: holding the lowest federal student loan debt per borrower ($11,062) and an unemploy- ment rate of just 4.4%. Another plus is that the city's young adult population shot up 41% from 2012 to 2022. "Salt Lake City is the perfect city for Gen Z," says Salt Lake City Real Estate Agent Joel Carson, President and Princi- pal Broker at Utah Real Estate. "There's always something to do in our very walkable city—from world-class skiing, hiking, and boating. There are phenom- enal restaurants here for those who are foodies. Plus, there are five national parks just a few hours' drive away." The top five cities where young adults under 25 can financially thrive, and their median home prices, are: 1. Salt Lake City ($589,900) 2. Abilene, Texas ($236,900) 3. Des Moines, Iowa ($234,900) 4. Boise, Idaho ($529,900) 5. Las Cruces, New Mexico ($315,950) Top Five Largest Cities for Young Adults Among the United State's 10 most populous cities, Phoenix was named the best for Gen Z, with an average federal student loan burden of $12,567 per borrower. "Phoenix has a really hot job market," says Stacy Miller, Real Estate Agent for The Miller Team at RE/MAX Fine Prop- erties in Phoenix. "A lot of tech-based companies from other states and even overseas have moved their offices and warehouses here. I'm working with a Z-er now who's buying his first home after moving from California for a job here." The rest of the top five big cities all reside in Texas, where the average federal student loan burden is $12,933 per borrower. The top five big U.S. cities where young adults under 25 can financially thrive, and their median home prices include: 1. Phoenix ($475,000) 2. Austin, Texas ($599,000) 3. Dallas ($425,000) Top 10 Metros Where $2,000 Rents the Most Space: All Apartments 0-1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms 3+ Bedrooms Memphis, TN 1,570 1,358 1,664 Birmingham, AL 1,523 No data No data Louisville, KY 1,479 1,301 1,579 St. Louis 1,388 1,265 1,468 Houston 1,380 1,281 1,471 Raleigh, NC 1,334 1,153 1,440 Indianapolis 1,333 1,168 1,448 Cincinnati 1,331 1,189 1,189 Cleveland 1,316 1,158 1,443 Jacksonville, FL 1,297 1,110 1,415 Top 10 Metros Where $2,000 Rents the Least Space: All Apartments 0-1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms 3+ Bedrooms San Jose, CA 537 491 596 630 San Francisco 565 520 634 No data New York 581 546 651 599 Los Angeles 591 549 648 661 San Diego 602 538 655 677 Boston 645 568 736 698 Seattle, WA 732 640 875 976 Riverside, CA 752 675 797 848 Providence, RI 788 659 885 No data Miami 806 704 862 874