Iowa State college graduates left for bigger cities, but they're returning to Iowa

• Iowa still loses a larger share of college-educated workers ages 25-29 than any other Midwest state.

How it works: The study's data, spanning 40 years, offers a clearer picture of who leaves for good and who eventually comes back later in life.

• Researchers compared ISU alumni's home ZIP codes at enrollment against their locations at the time of two surveys: one conducted in 2008 and another in 2024.
• The study covered ISU graduates from 1982 to 2023.

State of play: Two types of migration by ISU graduates are happening.

• Most rural Iowa students (60%-80%) move to urban areas such as Des Moines, Minneapolis and Chicago after graduation and do not return to rural Iowa.
• Some Iowa natives who leave the state after graduation appear to return later in life, around their 40s and 50s.

Zoom in: For graduates from the 1980s and 1990s, Iowa retention rates were roughly 10 percentage points higher when researchers checked back in 2024 than they were in 2008.

• The reasons behind the returns aren't clear, says ISU economics professor Peter Orazem. One theory is that Iowans are returning to raise families here because of cheaper housing, decent schools and proximity to relatives.

Yes, but: Rural areas aren't seeing those returns, potentially reflecting limited job opportunities, especially outside agriculture, and fewer services such as health care and retirement options, says co-author Aakansha Jain.

What they're saying: The good news is that retention in general has improved over time, Orazem says.

• Over half of ISU graduates ended up staying in the state, per the 2024 survey — an improvement from a little under half in the 2008 survey.
• Improved economic conditions and job availability have likely helped with retention, Orazem says. College graduates in the early 1980s dealt with the farm crisis, leading them to seek jobs elsewhere.