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New data from apartment research website RentCafé reveals two interesting points: that millennials love Laurelhurst, and that millennials can afford to live in Laurelhurst.
According to RentCafé's "Top Trending Millennial Zip Codes" report—which analyzes U.S. Census Bureau data—Portland's central eastside ranks fourth among areas in the nation's 30th largest cities that have seen the fastest millennial resident growth rates.
The neighborhood witnessed a 51.8 percent increase in its millennial population, or an addition of 5,700 new 22-37 year-old residents, between 2011 and 2016. That's just behind downtown Los Angeles, which ranked first and experienced a millennial population increase of 91.4 percent in the five year period.
RentCafé's Portland data is surprising, considering rents in Laurelhurst and Kerns are some of the highest in the city. Average rent prices for the area range from $1,486 to $1,548 per month, the website notes, while the average home purchasing price is $750,000.
The data also offers new insight into a battle being fought by longtime Laurelhurst residents who want to keep away developers of new apartments, condos and duplexes. Since last summer, area residents have been trying obtain a historic site designation for the neighborhood in order make demolishing existing homes to build multi-unit homes more difficult.
Related: Portland's Laurelhurst Neighborhood Fights to Keep the Housing Crisis Out
However, while Portland's central eastside experienced one of the largest influx of millennials, the area still doesn't rank among the top 20 for most millennial residents per capita. Neighborhoods in Chicago, Philadelphia and Manhattan claim the top spots for most millennial residents.