#1: The Most (and Least) Millennial Cities in the USA

A new analysis from the Brookings Institution breaks down the millennial makeup of the 100 largest US metropolitan areas.

• Where millennials live and which places attract them signal where the economy will grow. Young adults—and young workers—are important for local growth.
• Utah (Provo and SLC), Texas (Austin) and California (San Diego) have the highest percentage of millennials
• The LEAST millennial cities can be found in Florida (duh), Ohio and PA.

The most surprising stat: North Dakota had the biggest percentage increase of millennials (20.6%). North Dakota is home to Microsoft’s second largest campus (which I didn’t know).

 

#2:  Millennials heading into marriage clutter free

Millennials are getting married at a much later age, so they already have lots of stuff.

• Reason why wedding cash registries and donations towards experiences have become more common.
• At Blueprint Registry, 70% of couples register for at least one cash gift such as a honeymoon plane ticket or a contribution to help with remodeling a kitchen.
• On Zola, guests can buy experiences such as gift cards for Airbnb or Hotels.com for the couple. Since launching four years ago, more than 500,000 couples have used the website to create a registry.

Read on below for millennial’s stock picks and how they’re impacting food purchases.

 

#3:  Millennials flocking to cryptocurrency and cannabis stocks

Per TD Ameritrade, the brokerage has seen a huge uptick in cryptocurrency, blockchain and cannabis stocks – sectors that didn’t exist a few years ago.

• Millennials opened 72% more accounts at TD Ameritrade in 2017 than the previous year because of these offerings.
• The new accounts are being opened by millennial-aged traders for millennial investors.

 

#4:  When it comes to food, convenience is a top priority (Source: Tree Hugger)

A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, published in December 2017, examines the food-buying habits of Millennials.

• Millennials buy a lot more prepared foods than previous generations. The largest budget shares go to ready-to-eat foods. A result of busy lives and never having learned how to cook.
• The wealthier a household becomes, the less food is purchased to be eaten at home. Millennials consume food in restaurant or bars 30% more than other generations. However, “Recession Millennials”, those who entered the job market during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, spend more money on food that is consumed at home. Frugal shopping habits stick!
• Millennial dietary choices: More prepared foods, pasta, and sugar/sweets than any other generation. Conversely, they spend less on grains, white meat, and red meat. They eat a lot of fruit but their vegetable consumption doesn’t increase until their incomes do.
• Millennials spend less time cooking, eating, and cleaning up than any previous generation. They spend 12 minutes less eating and drinking than Traditionalists (their grandparents), who devote the most time toward those activities at 77 minutes per day.
• They love snacking. 91% snack many times throughout the day. Half say they can’t get through the day without snacking.

Bottom Line: At 75 million strong, millennials are a diverse lot. The oldest are starting to settle down and have kids. But no matter their age or family status, their priorities are consistent: convenience, experiences over things, and the crucial role of tech/social media in their lives for information gathering, purchases, entertainment and communications.