Millennials Are Happiest in Cities

Millennials, the conventional wisdom goes, are the back-to-the city generation. But recently, some observers have argued that Millennials are suburbanizing like their parents did—either by choice or out of necessity.

However, according to a new study, Millennials are happiest in cities. That’s a key finding of a recent paper published in the journal Regional Studies. Authors Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, of Rutgers University, and Rubia Valente, of Baruch College, take a close look at the happiness of recent generations and at the kinds of places where they live or lived. They use detailed data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which has collected information for nearly a century on the happiness, or subjective well-being (“SWB”), of five separate generations: the Lost Generation (born between 1883 and 1924); the Silent Generation (1925–1942); Baby Boomers (1943–1960); Generation X (1961–1981); and Millennials (1992–2004).