Central Ohio’s Growing Reputation as a Knowledge Economy a Key Factor in Attracting Young Professionals

Central Ohio’s growing reputation as a knowledge-based economy is gaining momentum, especially with college grads and young professionals as two different stories out this week indicate.  First is a report from the Brookings Institute that cites Columbus as one of only eight metros nationwide to experience a net growth in college grads and young professionals for the years 2005-2007.

For that same time period, Central Ohio has also been ranked as one of America’s Smartest Cities by Forbes which looked at the number of college grads living in the region. 

Attracting and retaining talent is key to the economic competitiveness of any region, especially one like Central Ohio that is dedicated to building a knowledge-based economy.  The Brookings study indicates that Columbus is one of only a handful of cities that may have begun to stem the tide on the brain drain and actually shown growth in the number of young adults who have chosen to establish their careers and their lives in the area. In general, young adults are considered the most mobile members of the population and are three to five times more likely to move than middle aged people.  Therefore attracting this group early in life is thought to pay lasting dividends. 

The study, authored by Brookings demographer William Frey, examines trends in the migration decisions of young adults and college grads over the years 2007-2009 (a period deemed particularly relevant since it encompasses the onset of the economic crisis and reset). Before the crisis (2005-2007), Frey noted young college grads were strongly attracted to Sunbelt bubble metros like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and California's Inland Empire.  But, in the wake of the crisis, migration to these cities slowed as young adults began gravitating towards larger cities, college towns and knowledge-based and creative economy metros.

Columbus was one of only eight cities to transition from a migration loss of young professionals in 2005-2007 to a migration gain in 2007-2009.  While clearly the economic crisis has caused more young people to stay put, Frey says that two other factors are at play for those metros showing migration gains.   One is the long-term efforts these gainers have instituted to transform their metros into knowledge-driven economies; and secondly these metros have put strategies in place to be more open and attractive to young professionals and college graduates.  According to Frey, these efforts can sometimes take as long as a generation to take hold, but they may just be starting to pay dividends for many metros like Central Ohio. 

Other cities showing migration gains included San Diego, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and New Orleans.  Metros showing net migration loss included New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Cleveland.  Austin topped the list in attracting college grads in the 2007-2009 period -- it was the only U.S. metro to register more than a two percent gain in college grads.

For more details on the study, see the story “Where the Brains are Going,” as reported in The Atlantic by clicking here.  

For more on the Forbes ranking, click here.