Aug 12, 2022 - News

Where Richmond millennials moved

Note: The analysis includes U.S. Social Security Number holders born 1984–1992 measuring their childhood locations at age 16 and young adult locations at age 26; Data: Center for Economic Studies, et al., 2022, "The Radius of Opportunity: Evidence from Migration and Local Labor Markets"; Chart: Skye Witley/Axios

About 72% of millennials who were raised here stayed in adulthood.

  • Those who did leave tended to stay fairly close to home, with D.C. as the top destination.

State of play: Axios looked at a Center of Economic Studies analysis of census migration data comparing where Richmonders born between 1984 and 1992 lived at the age of 16 vs. age 26.

Why it matters: The comings and goings of young people reflect where they're finding opportunity, according to a July report by the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University.

Yes, but: The data only measures where millennials moved up until 2018, which is not reflective of moving trends that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details: The average young Richmond resident who left moved to a city 149 miles away, 32 miles below the national average.

  • 3.5% moved to D.C.
  • North Carolina and NYC were also popular destinations.

The other side: We got plenty of new young people, too, mostly coming from other parts of Virginia or, of course, D.C.

  • The top places people came from: D.C. (which includes Northern Virginia), Newport News, Virginia Beach and Fredericksburg.

Between the lines: Wealth is a huge indicator of mobility.

  • 38% of Richmond millennials who grew up with parents in the highest income bracket moved away, compared with just 21% of those in the lowest income bracket, the report found.

Our thought bubble: Richmonders have long joked about the area's boomerang effect, so we'll say this to those former Richmonders: see ya soon.

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