MIDLAND RANKS NO. 2 IN US FOR MID-SIZED MARKETS DELIVERING FOR MILLENNIALS
(Sept. 2, 2025)
MIDLAND, TEXAS -- Midland ranks second in the nation for mid-sized markets for millennial affordability, job access and peer concentration, according to the commercial real estate website, Commercial Café.
Commercial Café analyzed 130 U.S. metros with fewer than 500,000 residents and used seven key metrics tied to income, employment, health coverage, cost of living and cohort share broken out by region.
Midland ranked behind another oil-industry area – Bismarck, North Dakota; while Iowa City, Iowa; Bloomington, Illinois; and Reno, Nevada; rounded out the top five.
Here are some Midland highlights, according to the Commercial Café report:
- 28% of Midland’s residents are millennials, making it the highest share in the study.
- The median millennial income is $124,354 — making it the highest in the top 20.
- Midland also registered the fourth lowest unemployment rate of 3%.
“A longtime hub for the energy sector, Midland sits in the heart of the Permian Basin, which is one of the country’s most productive oil fields,” the report stated. “In the last 15 years or so, the boom in oil production has coincided with strong job growth and consistently high incomes for younger workers. For example, the median millennial income is $124,354 — second-highest in the top 20 — and unemployment stands at 3% (tied for fourth-lowest in the study). City leaders are also working to broaden the economy into aerospace, education and amenities.”
Midland was the only Texas city to score a top-20 ranking.
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For more information, go to www.commercialcafe.com/blog/top-us-metros-millennials-less-than-500000-residents/
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Midland statistics according to the report
Share of millennials: 27.9% (highest of cities in the top 20)
Millennial change from 2019 to 2023: 1.2%
Regional price disparity: 91.8
Average millennial household income: $124,354 (highest of cities in the top 20)
Millennials with health insurance through employers: 79.4% (highest of cities in the top 20)
Cities in the top 10
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Midland
- Iowa City, Iowa
- Bloomington, Illinois
- Reno, Nevada
- Wausau-Weston, Wisconsin
- Janesville-Beloit, Wisconsin
- Decatur, Alabama
- Topeka, Kansas
- Coeur d’Alene, Idaho