A Brookings Institution recent analysis of census data has found that young people ages 25 to 34 prefer living in western cities.
Between 2010 and 2013, the San Francisco and Denver areas each had a net influx of 12,000 Millennials. Austin had 10,900 and Seattle had 8,600.
On the contrary, New York City, a hub of economic power, saw 22,970 Millennials leave for other places.
A decline in manufacturing in the East and an increase in service and technology jobs has lured many Millennials to the West.
The accelerated migration, in fact, has moved the center of the U.S. population to Texas County, Mo., the farthest west since the U.S. Census Bureau started tracking it in 1790.
As young professionals move west, so have corporations. In the past two decades, the number of Fortune 400 companies based in Texas has grown from 15 to 50. New York, by comparison, lost 50.
Since 2008, western and southwestern cities have seen the greatest increases in GDP, or gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Portland, Ore., led with a 22.8% increase, followed by Houston’s 22.4% and San Jose’s 20.3%. New York came in at a distant 6.3%.
The rise of the west began in the 1990s with the growth of aerospace and automotive manufacturing, computer system and software design, and energy industries, according to a Brookings Institution researcher.
Technology giants Apple and Google followed, along with new oil drilling techniques that led to an energy boom.
The resulting employment growth caused metro areas west of the Mississippi River to lead the United States in job gains since 2009. Austin, Texas, stood out on top, with a 20% employment growth.
The call of the west hasn’t been painless. Collapsing oil prices and California’s record drought has impacted the economy and rebounding housing prices have caused a shortage of single-family homes and driven up rents.
Home prices in the Denver metropolitan area were up 8.4% in January from the previous year, the most of any of the 20 U.S. markets on the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
Condos in the mid-$200,000 often fetch cash offers within hours of being on the market, making it difficult for young buyers moving to the area.
Still, the westward pull is powerful. The strong job market has led to higher wages and salaries.
Between 2009 and 2014, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado and Texas had the highest annual wage growth among states nationwide. Among the lowest were states in the East.
