The New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington-Baltimore metro areas remained popular magnets for young singles who had graduated from college, despite these areas’ overall net out-migration rates. Of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose had the highest net migration gain of nearly 50,000 single college graduates in the 25- to 39-year-old range. Many favored other metropolitan destinations, including Las Vegas, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. (See Table 1.)

The report, Migration of the Young, Single and College Educated: 1995 to 2000 [PDF], said three-fourths of these people changed residence during that period. Of those who lived in central cities in 2000, a ratio of 8-in-10 said they moved during the previous five years.

Some states, such as California and Illinois, saw net out-migration of the general population, but still attracted young, single college grads. Nevada, Georgia and other states that were powerhouses of domestic migration were also popular destinations for this demographic group.

Other highlights of the report:

• Whether married or single, young people with a college education were more likely to move than those without a college degree.
• People in the 25- to 39-year-old age bracket were highly mobile, accounting for more than one-third of people 5 years old and over who moved over the five-year period, but just 24 percent of the total population in this age group.
• College-educated singles ages 25- to 39-years old were almost twice as likely to have moved to a different state as singles in this same age range with less education.

The data are based on responses from the sample of households that received the census long form, about 1-in-6 nationally, and are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.

The report, as well as previously published migration reports, are available on the Internet at <http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/migration.html>.

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Table 1. Net Domestic Migration of the Young, Single and College Educated for the 20 Largest Metropolitan Areas: 1995 to 2000 — Ranked by Numerical Gain

(Data based on a sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

¹The net migration rate is based on an approximated 1995 population, which is the sum of people who reported living in the area in both 1995 and 2000, and those who reported living in that area in 1995 but lived elsewhere in 2000. The net migration rate is the 1995-to-2000 net migration, divided by the approximated 1995 population and multiplied by 1000.

Note: A negative value for net migration or the net migration rate is indicative of net outmigration, meaning that more migrants left an area than entered it, between 1995 and 2000. Positive values reflect net inmigration to an area.