Where you live and work is highly dependent on where you grew up. A recent study using data from the U.S. Census Bureau looking at migration patterns found that 80% of young adults move less than 100 miles from where they grew up—90% live less than 500 miles from where they grew up. Migration distances are shorter for Black and Hispanic individuals and those from low-income families.
Here’s an example of migration patterns from people who grew up in the New York City area.
What are the top destinations?
Read The Radius of Economic Opportunity: Evidence from Migration and Local Labor Markets.
See also:
- Remote work has the potential to drastically increase the ‘Radius of Economic Opportunity’ mentioned by the authors but compliance is a limiting factor for employers and access to broadband internet is a limiting factor for workers
- This seems like a more localized example of the significance of persistence in predicting economic outcomes
Links to this note
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The Radius of Economic Opportunity Is Limited
The economic benefit of increased wages is highly localized. 8 in 10 people live within 100 miles of where they grew up and disadvantaged groups are less likely to move for higher wages. In total, 99% of the residents of a given area (i.e. commuter zone) would live there even if there wasn’t strong wage growth.