Younger people left metro areas for smaller cities during the Covid era, and many aren't going back 'anytime soon'

University of Virginia graph, from Census Bureau Annual
Age Estimates

The population of some bigger U.S. cities is shrinking as younger residents move to smaller towns and cities even as Covid-era worries wither, reports Paul Davidson of USA Today. "Since the pandemic, cities with more than 1 million residents have lost adults ages 25 to 44 while towns with smaller populations have gained young people, after accounting for both those moving in and leaving, according to a University of Virginia analysis of Census Bureau data."

Hamilton Lombard, the study's author and a demographer at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, told Davidson, "Younger adults have driven most of the shift. . . since the pandemic. . . . The migration of younger adults into small towns and rural areas picked up last year rather than returning to pre-pandemic trends."

The age group's surprising shift in geography and lifestyle preferences has some experts scratching their heads. "The migration of young adults to small towns unexpectedly accelerated last year. From 2020 to 2023, young people comprised 54% of population gains in areas with fewer than 250,000 residents," Davidson reports. "Since 2020, areas with fewer than 1 million residents have added 25- to 34-year-olds in large numbers while more densely populated areas have lost them."

"Those in the 25 to 44 age bracket may not come back to large metro areas anytime soon," Davidson reports. Remote work options have "allowed more young Americans to live in smaller towns with more open spaces, natural beauty and low costs. . . . As large-city home prices and rents have soared, young people have flocked to smaller, more affordable markets."