(2017-11-30) The Garden State Holds Little Appeal For Millennials The Atlantic

The Garden State Holds Little Appeal for Millennials

New Jersey’s supply of compact, mixed-use neighborhoods is limited, and Millennials are noticing.

From 2000 to 2013, the number of 22-to-34-year-olds living in New Jersey fell by 2.3 percent, according to Census data, even while the number of people in this age bracket increased by 6.8 percent nationally during the same timeframe.

The smart-growth nonprofit New Jersey Future considered this demographic trend in a report released in September. The report measured New Jersey’s municipalities on three smart growth metrics: walkability and street connectivity; the presence of a mixed-use center; and net activity density (defined as population plus employment, divided by developed square miles).

The problem is a lack of Millennial-friendly environments. Of the state’s 565 municipalities, only 183 scored well on two or all three smart-growth metrics, and according to the study, only 111 of those places are popular with Millennials

There are a number of indicators that New Jersey’s Millennials are struggling to find affordable housing in their home state.

This is largely a product of the type of housing that’s available. According to the report, nearly 54 percent of the housing in New Jersey is made up of single-family detached homes, which tend to be too expensive for young people at the beginning of their careers

The places that do include the types of housing Millennials desire are, in some cases, pricier than parts of New York City. Hoboken...