Debunking Misconceptions About Metro Area Domestic Migration

On his blog, Aaron Renn has done an analysis of 2008 tax return data from metropolitan areas to show where domestic migration is happening. Some of his findings are a bit surprising.

1 minute read

November 17, 2010, 10:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg

Some of those cities commonly thought of as hemorrhaging population, like Pittsburgh and Detroit, aren't doing so bad.

"Not what you expected, is it? That's right, Pittsburgh is dead last among all 366 US metro areas I'm tracking in terms of its out-migration rate. People aren't leaving, just like they aren't leaving a lot of other places famous for large absolute net domestic out-migration. Not even Cleveland (#13 from the bottom) or Detroit (#17). (In fairness, net migration did turn positive for Pittsburgh this year).

I'm still validating some of the numbers. Large metros seem to have lower rates than small metros, probably an artifact of many small metros being single county. But still, this was surprising even to me."

FULL STORY: Are People Really Fleeing Shrinking Cities?

Sunday, November 14, 2010 in The Urbanophile

Social / Demographics United States Data Domestic Migration Metropolitan Area

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