Massachusetts Ranked 1st for Millennials; Connecticut is 21st, Analysis Shows

A new analysis highlights the gap between Connecticut and neighboring Massachusetts for members of the millennial generation – young adults in their early 20’s to early 30’s.  A state-by-state ranking, which reflects three dozen metrics in the broad categories of affordability, education and health, quality of life, economic health and civic engagement, show Massachusetts ranking 1st in the nation.  Connecticut ranks 21st, New York was 14th, and Rhode Island with 31st.

The positive driver for Connecticut’s overall ranking was in the Education & Health category, where the state placed 3rd in the nation.  Only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia ranked higher.  The drag on the Connecticut ranking was from Economic Health, where the state ranked #39.  Connecticut was  #37 in Civic Engagement and #32 in Affordability.  The state earned a #26 finish – in the middle of the pack – in Quality of Life.

The overall leaders, following Massachusetts, were D.C., Washington State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Utah, Pennsylvania, California and Illinois.  Category leaders were North Dakota in Affordability, Massachusetts in Education & Health, D.C. in Quality of Life, New Hampshire in Economic Health, and Maine in Civic Engagement

WalletHub, the financial services site that produced the analysis, points out that “early-20-to-early-30-somethings who are often depicted through negative stereotypes — entitled, parentally dependent, emotionally fragile — are responsible for 21 percent of all consumer discretionary spending in the U.S.”

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine “where this generation has thrived and struggled.” They examined each state and the District across 36 key metrics, ranging from share of millennials to millennial unemployment rate to millennial voter-turnout rate, noting that “despite millennials’ trillion-dollar purchasing power and higher educational attainment, they are economically worse off than their parents. Why? The financial crisis remains a big part of the reason.”

Among the metrics that were part of the analysis:  highest percentage of millennials living with parents.  The highest percentage were in New Jersey, followed by Connecticut and New York.

For the purpose of this study, “millennials” were defined as individuals who were born between 1981 and 1997.