Baltimore; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami have relatively high shares of childless young adults thinking about packing up and leaving, a new survey finds.
Why it matters: Lots of young people considering a move can signal bigger issues for any given city, like a lack of perceived job opportunities or affordable housing.
By the numbers: Baltimore tops the list, with about 62% of young adults saying they're "likely" or "very likely" to leave town.
- That's followed by Charlotte (about 58%), Miami (52%) and Detroit (52%).
The other side: San Diego (about 27%), Boston (28%) and Chicago (36%) have comparatively small shares of young adults with an eye towards the exit.
How it works: That's based on Gensler survey data covering about 2,200 residents aged 18-34 with no children across 27 major U.S cities and conducted between July and November 2024.
- The question was open-ended, with no particular time frame on when respondents were thinking about moving.
- The findings are part of a broader report from the design and architecture firm's research wing, City Pulse 2025: The Magnetic City, an annual dive into how city residents feel about a host of issues.
Between the lines: Young people with no kids — a particularly mobile demographic — think about moving cities for a variety of reasons, including career growth, cost of living and more.
What they're saying: Gensler's researchers thought the factors that attract people to cities in the first place would be the same that kept them there, but that wasn't the case.
- "What gets people to stay is less tangible, much more intangible," Sofia Song, global leader of cities research at Gensler's Research Institute, tells Axios.
- "It's about emotional connection. It's about being engaged in your city, feeling pride in your city, as well as having this growing sense of belonging."
💬 Thought bubble, from Axios San Diego's Kate Murphy: "Of course nobody wants to leave this city and the laid-back, outdoor lifestyle it offers."
- "It's just a matter of whether you can afford to stay."
