Milwaukee-Area Millennials Staying Close To Home, Study Finds

MILWAUKEE, WI — Who says you can’t stay home? Most millennials live and work near their childhood homes, according to a new study by the U.S. Census Bureau and Harvard University.

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 71 percent of adults who grew up in the Milwaukee area stayed here. For those that moved within Wisconsin, the top destinations were: Madison (3.2 percent), Kenosha (1.9 percent) and Oshkosh (1.8 percent).

Chicago, Illinois, was the top destination for young adults moving out of state as 2.3 percent from Milwaukee moved there. Other top out-of-state destinations were Minneapolis, Minnesota (1.8 percent) and Denver, Colorado (0.72 percent).

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 Milwaukee area, around 61 percent of young adults who meet that criteria stayed home, while 13 percent moved within Wisconsin and 26 percent moved out of state.

About 79 percent of young adults whose parents were in the bottom 20 percent income level stayed in the Milwaukee area.

Black and Hispanic young adults are more likely to stay in Milwaukee than white or Asian young adults, according to the study. About 80 percent of Black and 79 percent of Hispanic young adults stayed, while 33 percent of white young adults and 30 percent of Asians sought job opportunities elsewhere.

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 73 percent of young adults living in the Milwaukee area 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.