Generation Z Is Facing Challenges in Finding Affordable Housing, Even in Texas

OK, enough with the bashing of Generation Z.

Every generation taunts the previous generation, turning into grumpy old men declaring they had it bad in their day.

Well, Gen Z — that age group born from 1997 to 2012 — is roughing it, walking-three-feet-in-the-snow-to-school roughing it. In a recent study commissioned by Porch.com, Gen Zers are facing tough sledding in their formative years.

Gen Z has had to navigate this time with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic’s social and economic fallout, and, more recently, rising prices, and the threat of a recession.

These challenges could create lasting difficulties for Gen Z, which could compound a trend in recent decades of young people delaying major life milestones.

But the study found that some Gen Zers are finding pockets of the U.S. where they’re living on their own and not with parents or grandparents. They’re finding affordable housing in the central U.S. and also tech- and creative-friendly locales such as Austin, Seattle, and Portland.

Porch crunched data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.

Full-time Gen Zers Earn About Half of What the Typical U.S. Worker Makes

In the Large Metro category, Oklahoma City has the most Gen Z (42 percent) already living on their own, according to Porch.com. Tucson ranks second (40.7 percent). The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area (40.2 percent) ranks third. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area ranks 21st with 30.2 percent of Gen Zers living on their own.

In the Small Metro category, College Station-Bryan ranks first with 65.8 percent of adult Gen Zers living on their own. College Station-Bryan also ranks first among All Metros. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington market ranks 131st (out of 255) among All Metros.

As a state, Texas ranks 30th (31 percent).

Eleven states have more than 40 percent of adult Gen Zers living on their own, led by North Dakota (46 percent) and Wyoming (45.9 percent). In contrast, Rhode Island and New Jersey have seen less than a fifth of Gen Z adults move away from home.

What is Porch? Seattle-based Porch Group provides software and services to more than 25,500 home services companies.

Report review: Porch presents its data in two static charts and a dynamic searchable and sortable table. It’s a five-star rabbit hole. 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇