LinkedIn Ranks Cleveland As A City Most Likely to Attract Millennials

CLEVELAND, OH - Cleveland and Akron could be getting younger in the not too distant future if recent predictions hold true. Social media networking site LinkedIn released a list of cities that are rapidly attracting Millennials and the Forest City landed at number four, behind Detroit, Mich.

The research found that Cleveland and Akron's most popular industries for Millennial job hunters were Hospital & Healthcare, IT and Services and Insurance. The three most popular employers are the Cleveland Clinic, Progressive Insurance and Goodyear Tire and Rubber.

The five cities most likely to attract Millennials in the future are:

1. Austin, Tex.
1. Most popular industries: IT and Services, Computer Software, Internet
2. Most popular companies: Apple, Dell, IBM
2. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
1. Most popular industries: Computer Software, IT and Services, Pharmaceuticals
2. Most popular companies: RTI International, Cisco, Red Hat
3. Detroit, Mich.
1. Most popular industries: Automotive, IT and Services, Marketing and Advertising
2. Most popular companies: General Motors, Ford, Quicken Loans
4. Cleveland/Akron, Oh.
1. Most popular industries: Hospital & Healthcare, IT and Services, Insurance
2. Most popular companies: Cleveland Clinic, Progressive Insurance, Goodyear Tires
5. Charlotte, N.C.
   1. Most popular industries: Financial Services, IT and Services, Retail
   2. Most popular companies: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Lowe’s

The LinkedIn study looked at the site's job search behaviors for Millennials in the U.S. Analysts wanted to get a better understanding of the demographic's shifting job preferences. They found that over the past year, interest in mid-sized cities has grown 25 percent faster than large cities.

The analysts defined Millennials based on the year they graduated with a bachelor's degree, according to their LinkedIn profile. Individuals were included if they said they graduated between 2001 and 2016 and currently resident in the U.S.

The team then looked at how Millennials engaged with job openings on LinkedIn in the past year, versus how they engaged last year. Job interest in each city was determined by looking at the percentage growth of Millennial job views. Residents currently living in the city were not included in the city's ranking. Only cities with at least 20,000 monthly job openings were included in the final rankings.

Another sign of Cleveland's returning fortunes is the uptick in housing prices. MarketWatch reported that the city has seen a 2.8 percent increase in housing prices over the past 12 months. While that displays steady improvement, Detroit's housing prices increased 6.2 percent over the same time.

However, Cleveland, like other mid-sized cities, has a large number of commuters who come to work from inner-ring suburbs. At least one such suburb, Lakewood, is experiencing a renaissance in its housing market. Crain's Cleveland Business reported that some Lakewood houses were lasting for hours on the market, and that the city had less than a month of housing inventory. For comparison, Scott Phillips, CEO of Keller Williams Greater Cleveland, told Crain's, “A ‘stable’ market is six months of inventory. A ‘hot’ market is three months. This is an ‘insane’ market.”

Image via Ohio City Incorporated