New York City Gen Zers are moving to this Pennsylvania valley home to ‘Christmas City USA’
New York’s youngest movers have a surprising favorite escape, and it isn’t Jersey City, Philly or Austin. According to U-Haul’s latest migration report , the top destination for Gen Zers leaving the New York City area is Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, the region that’s home to Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem, better known as “Christmas City USA.” What U-Haul found For its 2026 Midyear Migration Trends report, U-Haul analyzed one-way truck rentals from July 2025 through June 2026 and sorted them by generation, to see where people at different stages of life are actually moving. For New York City’s Gen Z renters, the top five net-gain destinations were: Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (the Lehigh Valley) Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania Toronto Houston Los Angeles The Lehigh Valley isn’t just a Gen Z thing, either. It also ranked No. 3 for the city’s Millennials . And the valley really is getting younger. Its population of 18- to 34-year-olds grew by nearly 9,000 between 2020 and 2024 , putting both Lehigh and Northampton counties in the top 10% of U.S. counties for young-adult growth, according to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation . “The growing and talented population, particularly that of young people, is the secret sauce,” LVEDC CEO Don
