Census: Fewer are moving far these days

WASHINGTON - Americans are shunning long-distance moves at a record rate as many young adults, struggling without jobs, opt to stay put rather than relocate to other parts of the country.

The new information from the Census Bureau, released Tuesday, highlights the extreme pressure that the sluggish economy is putting on people, especially those in the hardest hit groups.

"It is truly a Great Depression for young adults," said Andrew Sum, an economics professor and the director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. "Young adults are working at lower rates than they ever worked before since World War II. As a result, you would expect migration to fall because they have nowhere to go to."

Longer-distance moves across states fell to 4.3 million people, or 1.4 percent, down from 1.6 percent in 2009. It was the lowest level since the government began tracking movers in 1948.

Among adults ages 25 to 29, 3.2 percent moved to a new state last year, down from 3.7 percent. Moving rates for college graduates, who historically are more likely to relocate out of state, remained flat at a low of 2.1 percent. Moves by those lacking a college degree dipped slightly.

William H. Frey, a demographer at Brookings Institution who analyzed the data, noted that cities with relative gains were the handful that offered the promise of specialized technology jobs and hip lifestyles to highly educated, young professionals.

Metro areas with diversified economies such as Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; and Portland, Ore., saw gains in college graduates relative to other cities.

Large metropolitan areas in Sun Belt states continued to attract some young adults but at a slower pace.

The findings, which are based on a pair of government surveys, are reflected in official 2010 census results released last month. Those results highlighted Texas as the big winner - picking up four new House seats as the state's strong economy helped attract new residents in the last decade.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey each will lose a seat in Congress as a result of slow population growth.

The level of people moving has been gradually declining for decades, more recently because the aging baby boomer generation is getting less mobile. But the rate had leveled off at 13 percent to 14 percent before dropping sharply - to 11.9 percent - in 2008 amid the steep recession.

The findings are based on the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey as of March 2010, as well as comparisons of the 2005-07 and the 2007-09 American Community Survey.