Study Finds Where Minneapolis Area Millennials Are Moving To

MINNEAPOLIS — Who says you can’t stay home? Most millennials still live and work near their childhood homes, according to a new study by the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University, and that includes the young professionals in the Twin Cities metro area.

Nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles, the study found.

About 74 percent of millennials who are originally from the Twin Cities have decided to live and work here. About 8.6 percent of Twin Cities natives moved to a different city in Minnesota, while 17 percent moved out of the state.

Here are the Minnesota and Wisconsin towns that Twin Cities millennials have decided to move to:

• St. Cloud, MN (1.7%)
• Duluth, MN (0.66%)
• Rochester, MN(0.65%)
• Eau Claire, WI (0.53%)
• Mankato, MN (0.50%)
• Madison, WI (0.47%)
• Fargo, ND (0.47%)
• Milwaukee, WI (0.43%)
• Owatonna, MN (0.35%)
• Other (2.8%)

Here are the other cities that Twin Cities’ millennials decided to move to:

• Chicago, IL (1.3%)
• Los Angeles, CA (0.93%)
• Denver, CO (0.84%)
• New York, NY (0.84%)
• Phoenix, AZ (0.58%)
• Seattle, WA (0.58%)
• Washington DC, DC & MD & VA(917 mi. away -0.48%)
• San Francisco, CA (0.47%)
• San Diego, CA(0.34%)

The study analyzed where individuals moved between childhood (their location at 16 years old) and young adulthood (where they lived at 26). It was based on data from the decennial census, survey and tax data for people born between 1984 and 1992. The geographic areas in the study are based on commuting zones.

Nationally, young adults whose parents were in the top 20 percent income level were more likely to move out of state compared with the rest of the population. In the Twin Cities, around 71 percent of young adults who meet that criteria stayed home, while 7.4 percent moved within Minnesota and 22 percent moved out of state.

About 76 percent of young adults whose parents were in the bottom 20 percent income level stayed in the metro.

Black and Hispanic young adults are more likely to stay in the Twin Cities than white or Asian young adults, according to the study.

National trends follow a similar pattern. Black young adults moved an average of 60 fewer miles than white young adults. Young white adults were more likely to leave their home area, and when they did, they tended to travel farther.

Around 70 percent of young adults living in the Twin Cities grew up here, according to the study.

The top destinations nationally for adults who leave their childhood commuting zones are:

1. New York, NY: 3.2 percent
2. Los Angeles, CA: 3.1 percent
3. Washington, D.C.: 2.2 percent
4. Atlanta, GA: 1.9 percent
5. Seattle, WA: 1.8 percent
6. Chicago, IL: 1.8 percent
7. Denver, CO: 1.7 percent
8. San Francisco, CA: 1.7 percent
9. Dallas, TX : 1.7 percent
10. Houston, TX: 1.6 percent

Explore all the migration data here, including an interactive map.