Highlights the Importance of Housing & Quality Jobs to Retention of 20 – 30 Year Olds

 Chamber Foundation’s Young Residents Survey

Highlights the Importance of Housing & Quality Jobs to Retention of 20 – 30 Year Olds

Young Residents Overwhelmingly Satisfied with Living in Greater Boston

BOSTON, MA – 

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation (the “Chamber Foundation”) and City Awake, a program of the Chamber Foundation, commissioned a survey from HIT Strategies to understand the personal and professional challenges and opportunities of 20 to 30-year-old residents living and working in Greater Boston. Young residents contribute significantly to the growth and vitality of local workplaces, communities, and economy, and the Chamber Foundation recognizes the heightened urgency as the Commonwealth loses young residents to competitor cities and states.

 

According to 2022 U.S. Census data, the most popular states that Massachusetts residents moved to are New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and Florida.[1] In terms of outmigration, even though the Commonwealth has seen modest improvement with population loss to other states, Massachusetts still exceeds typical outmigration levels, and only four other states experienced larger outmigration. Beginning in 2020 with the shift to remote and hybrid office policies, the mobility of the workforce increased, and we are seeing residents, especially young residents, move away from Massachusetts to more affordable regions.

 

Conducted in November and December of 2023, the young residents survey consists of 823 young adult respondents, who are 20 – 30-year-olds and live in Greater Boston. For this survey, Greater Boston includes Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk counties. One of the findings notes an overall satisfaction with living in Greater Boston: 89% of young residents are satisfied with their day-to-day lives in Greater Boston across race and gender.

 

With this positive reflection of young residents and their experience in Greater Boston, it is imperative that the region’s future and current workforce are able to stay in the region with a high quality of life and transformative policies and connections that amplify opportunities.  With this survey, the Chamber Foundation is committed to using the data to understand and magnify the concerns of the region’s young residents through essential convenings and the promotion of civic engagement and policy solutions.

 

As the region wrestles with departures to more affordable states and cities, the survey results showed that an alarming 25% of young residents are planning to leave Greater Boston over the next 5 years. 

 

Of the young residents who responded to questions about their plans to leave, there are different responses across race and sexual orientation: while 76% of millennial women and 77% of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals surveyed noted that they plan to remain in Greater Boston, 35% of Black women and 31% of LGBTQIA+ individuals reported that they are more likely to leave Greater Boston. Compared to all of the respondents, cultural and racial diversity is more important to Black women and LGBTQIA+ individuals’ decision to stay or leave Greater Boston.

 

In terms of the reasons and factors that influence a young resident’s decision to continue living in Greater Boston, job availability, cost of rent, and the ability to purchase a home ranked as the most important issues for young residents as they choose to build a life and career.

• 87% of young residents surveyed responded that Job Availability is important.
• 83% of young residents surveyed responded that the Cost of Rent is important.
• 78% of young residents surveyed responded that the Ability to Buy a Home is important.

When asked about the most urgent issues for local leaders, respondents noted that housing, jobs, and wages should be prioritized.

• 66% of young residents surveyed responded that Housing that is Affordable should be prioritized.
• 39% of young residents surveyed responded that the Availability of Quality Jobs should be prioritized.
• 35% of young residents surveyed responded that Financial Compensation and Wages should be prioritized.

As Greater Boston and the Commonwealth continue to navigate a housing crisis, young residents are making decisions about the value of the region to their lives. To ensure that young residents want and choose to remain in Greater Boston, the most urgent issues of quality and available jobs, rent costs, and home ownership must be at the top of mind for public officials and the business community.

 

“The Chamber Foundation is committed to the success of every person in the Commonwealth, and our young residents are not only the future of the workforce, but also our current leaders and champions of our small businesses, downtowns, and workplaces,” said James E. Rooney, President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “It is incumbent upon us to elevate the voices of young residents who are contributing to our local vibrancy and civic fabric while navigating significant hurdles. With meaningful and strategic initiatives, the Chamber Foundation helps address opportunities for young residents while working with partners to better advance the success of young residents so that they will make Greater Boston their permanent home.”

 

Download the Survey Questions and Results here.