This South Carolina City is One of the Top Cities Gen Z is Flocking To

Author Randi Moultrie

March 2nd, 2023 3:25 PM

Van full of moving boxes and furniture near house

The “Gen Z” generation is obsessed with moving into bigger cities. Their generation enjoys fun things to do, food, nightlife, adventures, and affordability! They are always looking for something to do and where they may want to relocate to. Staying in their hometowns is not always what they are looking for in their futures.

During the pandemic, every generation saw themselves flocking to cities that have lots to do but at a much more affordable cost. These ages range between 18 and about 25. They are consistently moving to different cities each and every day to start new paths in their lives. There are a few major cities in which Gen Z is very frequent too. Those cities include New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, and even Chicago! As someone who formerly lived in Houston, I also migrated there during the peak of everyone else also moving. Right now, there are ten cities that Gen Z have truly made even bigger with their newest additions, according to USA Today. One South Carolina city not only made the top 10 but came in at No. 2. Do you know which one? Check out the top 10 cities that Gen Z is flocking to below.

Washington D.C. – 22,471 moved in
Columbia, SC – 12,228 moved in
Boston, MA – 17,237 moved in
Atlanta, GA – 10,367 moved in
Austin, TX – 9,360 moved in
Nashville, TN – 11,138 moved in
Syracuse, NY – 7,421 moved in
Philadelphia, PA – 12,947 moved in
Madison, WI – 8,804 moved in
Tampa, FL – 7,799 moved in

Check out the full list here to see what all cities made the full 27 list.

Randi Moultrie is a Charleston, South Carolina native and has been in the radio industry for the last few years in Charlotte. Randi started with Beasley Media Group as an intern in 2019 and is now thriving in the digital world. Randi enjoys writing about her favorite foods (especially pizza) and all things fashion and travel. As one who loves taking trips to find new foods, it’s not surprising that she enjoys writing about both!

Best Places To Live In The US? South Carolina City Among The Best

We all know that living in South Carolina is wonderful. The Palmetto State has something for everything and we often talk about how incredible the city of Charleston is. But that’s not all the state has to offer. Scholaroo created a detailed guide on the best US cities to live. The report compared 150 cities across 47 metrics distributed in 9 key relevant categories: Crime & Safety, Affordability, Economy, Quality of life, Leisure and entertainment, Healthcare, Education, Employment, and Infrastructure. And in the best 150 cities to live there were four South Carolina cities. Of course, Charleston was the highest-ranked South Carolina city, but another trendy SC spot wasn’t far behind them on the list. Both of these cities were ranked in the top 20.

Additionally moving a little North, North Carolina also had four cities make this list. If I had to pick four cities to be included from SC, these would be those four. But if I were to do the same for NC, the cities included are not what I would expect. Only one of Charlotte and Raleigh was included.

Read Scholaroo’s full rankings and analysis here and keep reading to see the South Carolina cities named the best places to live, as well as the NC cities, and the top 10 nationwide.

South Carolina Cities
11. Charleston, SC

Rank Crime & Safety: 32

Rank Affordability: 109

Rank Economy: 40

Rank Quality of Life: 47
17. Greenville, SC

Rank Crime & Safety: 67

Rank Affordability: 76

Rank Economy: 120

Rank Quality of Life: 38
56. Columbia, SC
Columbia, South Carolina, USA downtown city skyline from Finlay Park at dusk.

Rank Crime & Safety: 106

Rank Affordability: 52

Rank Economy: 137

Rank Quality of Life: 53
74. Myrtle Beach, SC

Rank Crime & Safety: 143

Rank Affordability: 116

Rank Economy: 110

Rank Quality of Life: 35
North Carolina Cities
62. Asheville, NC

Rank Crime & Safety: 82

Rank Affordability: 70

Rank Economy: 74

Rank Quality of Life: 69
69.. Charlotte, NC

Rank Crime & Safety: 78

Rank Affordability: 81

Rank Economy: 48

Rank Quality of Life: 94
82. Winston Salem, NC

Rank Crime & Safety: 138

Rank Affordability: 21

Rank Economy: 94

Rank Quality of Life: 55
126. Hickory, NC

Rank Crime & Safety: 69

Rank Affordability: 57

Rank Economy: 96

Rank Quality of Life: 52
Top 10 Best Cities To Live
10. Lincoln, NE

Rank Crime & Safety: 49

Rank Affordability: 39

Rank Economy: 59

Rank Quality of Life: 91
9. Cambridge, MA
Harvard University Eliot House across Charles River, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Rank Crime & Safety: 24

Rank Affordability: 144

Rank Economy: 24

Rank Quality of Life: 15
8. Papillion, NE
An aerial shot of the Omaha Suburb of Papillion in Nebraska

Rank Crime & Safety: 26

Rank Affordability: 79

Rank Economy: 20

Rank Quality of Life: 144
7. Madison, MS
Mississippi State welcome sign along the US Highway 61 in the USA; Concept for travel in America and Road Trip in America

Rank Crime & Safety: 6

Rank Affordability: 111

Rank Economy: 5

Rank Quality of Life: 24
6. Alpharetta, GA
ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA – September 13, 2019: The Alpharetta Historic District contains several historic buildings dating from the late 19th century and older, and includes dining and shopping.

Rank Crime & Safety: 14

Rank Affordability: 124

Rank Economy: 14

Rank Quality of Life: 107
5. Naperville, IL
Carillon bell tower in Naperville, Illinois at sunset

Rank Crime & Safety: 15

Rank Affordability: 120

Rank Economy: 9

Rank Quality of Life: 119
4. Amherst, NH

Rank Crime & Safety: 1

Rank Affordability: 99

Rank Economy: 13

Rank Quality of Life: 60
3. Portland, ME
Portland, Maine, USA coastal townscape on Portland Harbor.

Rank Crime & Safety: 42

Rank Affordability: 96

Rank Economy: 63

Rank Quality of Life: 37
2. Carmel, IN

Rank Crime & Safety: 8

Rank Affordability: 91

Rank Economy: 17

Rank Quality of Life: 120
1. Naples, FL
Naples coastal neighborhoods aerial drone photo

Rank Crime & Safety: 4

Rank Affordability: 150

Rank Economy: 8

Rank Quality of Life: 11