Millennials, Gen Z Make Up Half of the Local Population

Millennials and Gen Z make up 56% of the total population in San Diego, meaning that more than half of the residents in San Diego are under the age 39, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield. Millennials are the largest demographic in the market, making up 31% of the total population. Each of the three remaining age groups—40 to 49, 50 to 64 and 65-plus—account for less than 20% of the total population. We sat down with Jolanta Campion, director of research for the San Diego region at Cushman & Wakefield, to talk about the strong presence of young people in the market and how they are driving trends.

GlobeSt.com: San Diego has a huge demographic of you people, between the ages of 0 to 39. Tell me about these groups and how they are influencing trends in the market.

Jolanta Campion: Millennials are the largest generation group in San Diego, representing 31% of the total population. Based on this calculation, San Diego ranks as the second in the U.S. as having the highest concentration of millennials compared to the total population living in the metro area.

56% of the approximately 3.4 million residents in San Diego are 39 years old or younger, which means Millennials, also knows as Gen Y (sharers), are influencing trends along with Gen Z (connectors and globals) who represent 25% of San Diego residents. These younger generations typically offer a vibrant energy and drive, an existing and future talented labor pool and therefore potential job growth and economic expansion, new ideas and concepts that are helping shape and advance the region, and as consumers their purchasing power also helps to expand our local economy—which for Gen Z also includes influencing their parents’ spending behaviors.

GlobeSt.com: Why has the San Diego market attracted so many millennials/?

Campion: Quality of life and availability of employment are among top requirements for Millennials when evaluating where to live and work. And with 39 beaches, 266 sunny days on average per year, San Diego offers a very desirable and healthy outdoor lifestyle. In fact, 75% of the population lives within 10 miles of the coast and 13% live within one mile. Moreover, our economy, which includes everything from sports, entertainment and tourism to highly technical and scientific companies offers many choices for business and employment. San Diego’s economy ranks as the fourth largest in California. And let us also not forget San Diego boasts some of the most respected and top rated universities in the nation, which ultimately fuel a strong, talented labor pool.

GlobeSt.com: How are millennials responding to housing affordability issues and increased cost of housing?

Campion: Housing affordability remains an issue in San Diego, however, with a score of 26 according to California Association of Realtor’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index. But like most desirable destinations, people are willing to pay a premium to live in San Diego due to the appealing lifestyle, experience and employment opportunities it brings. Furthermore, when compared to other tech hubs such as San Francisco (15), San Mateo (15) or Orange County (21), San Diego housing is less expensive. In comparison, the affordability index was 57 in the U.S. and 31 in California as of Q1 2018.

GlobeSt.com: Why is it important for the health of the market to have such a large presence of young people?

Campion: With a large proportion of younger people, San Diego will continue to be at the forefront of changing workplace trends. The innovation economy that consists of nine knowledge based industry sectors such as software, computer equipment manufacturing and life sciences accounts for $55 billion or 25% of our regional economy. This industry cluster has been creating over 400 new startups each year since 2013. San Diego ranked among the five metro areas in the U.S. with the highest startup activity in the Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship 2017 Startup Activity Index.