The nation's most coveted demographic has been flocking to Pittsburgh (Carnegie: 2014, school)

[Craziaskowboi]

That's the exact name of the article written by Pete Saunders, a Detroit-born-and-raised, Chicago-employed urban planner. It initially appeared on his blog, The Corner Side Yard, but was soon picked up by the Business Insider.

The data tallied by Mr. Saunders was eye-opening. Though he's comparing Pittsburgh exclusively to Midwestern metropolitan areas, the numbers are still remarkable. Despite the fact that Cleveland and Detroit were the only metropolitan areas that grew slower than Pittsburgh between 2005 and 2012, only Minneapolis/St. Paul grew its 25-34 population faster than Pittsburgh in that same period of time. And it's worth noting that the local colleges and universities more than likely have little to do with it because most people are done with formal education by the time they're 25.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

That's the exact name of the article written by Pete Saunders, a Detroit-born-and-raised, Chicago-employed urban planner. It initially appeared on his blog, The Corner Side Yard, but was soon picked up by the Business Insider.

The data tallied by Mr. Saunders was eye-opening. Though he's comparing Pittsburgh exclusively to Midwestern metropolitan areas, the numbers are still remarkable. Despite the fact that Cleveland and Detroit were the only metropolitan areas that grew slower than Pittsburgh between 2005 and 2012, only Minneapolis/St. Paul grew its 25-34 population faster than Pittsburgh in that same period of time. And it's worth noting that the local colleges and universities more than likely have little to do with it because most people are done with formal education by the time they're 25.

Good news. Percentage wise could be caused by having a lower than average 25-34 population though I'm not sure though.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

And it's worth noting that the local colleges and universities more than likely have little to do with it because most people are done with formal education by the time they're 25.

Well, I think that a lot of 25+ people are here because they came here for school and then stayed. More than half of the people I know who moved here are here for that reason, including myself and my wife.

[ferraris]

Colleges may not be the direct reason 25-34 year olds are here, but it's probably an indirect one. People come here for college, like it and stay. Similarly, companies who employ people of all ages locate here and stay here because the colleges provide a good recruiting pool.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by speagles84

Good news. Percentage wise could be caused by having a lower than average 25-34 population though I'm not sure though.

I doubt that makes much of a difference. Even if the 25-34 population in Pittsburgh is a smaller percentage of the total population than it is in, say, Chicago or Minneapolis/St. Paul, it's not by much, nor is it a minuscule percentage like the Hispanic population is, in which a large percent increase could still mean a small numeric increase.

Originally Posted by ferraris

Colleges may not be the direct reason 25-34 year olds are here, but it's probably an indirect one. People come here for college, like it and stay. Similarly, companies who employ people of all ages locate here and stay here because the colleges provide a good recruiting pool.

I'm aware of that, but I was speaking about it as a direct factor. Anybody who came to Pittsburgh for college and wanted to leave afterward would more than likely be gone by the time they were 25.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Anybody who came to Pittsburgh for college and wanted to leave afterward would more than likely be gone by the time they were 25.

I don't know about that. Pitt has 18,000 undergrads and 10,000 graduate and professional students. It's possible for somebody to get a graduate degree by 25, but most of them would be older than that when they finish.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I don't know about that. Pitt has 18,000 undergrads and 10,000 graduate and professional students. It's possible for somebody to get a graduate degree by 25, but most of them would be older than that when they finish.

Well, 12% of 10,000 is 1,200, so even if we assume that all of them are graduate students over the age of 25, there's no way in hell that 1,200 more people translates to a 12% increase in 25- to 34-year-olds in the metropolitan area at large. Even if we throw in the graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, 12% of them is only about 600 students, so 1,800 more won't translate into a 12% increase either. The math doesn't even come close to adding up for anybody who wants to spin the 25-34 population surge as nothing but graduate students. This means that almost all new 25- to 34-year-olds are people either coming to Pittsburgh after college, or during college and staying afterward.

[Geeo]

I think Chris Briem on his Null Space blog has been addressing this issue from time to time. If I remember correctly, it started to become a noticeable trend about mid-decade (2005 or 2006) and has remained constant since then. Definitely good news.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Well, 12% of 10,000 is 1,200, so even if we assume that all of them are graduate students over the age of 25, there's no way in hell that 1,200 more people translates to a 12% increase in 25- to 34-year-olds in the metropolitan area at large. Even if we throw in the graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, 12% of them is only about 600 students, so 1,800 more won't translate into a 12% increase either. The math doesn't even come close to adding up for anybody who wants to spin the 25-34 population surge as nothing but graduate students. This means that almost all new 25- to 34-year-olds are people either coming to Pittsburgh after college, or during college and staying afterward.

I'm not sure why you are taking 12% of 10,000 or what that gets you.

I agree that it isn't possible for all the increase in 25-34 year-olds to be all students. I'm just pointing out that a lot of students are going to be over 25 when you are talking about a school like Pitt.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I think Chris Briem on his Null Space blog has been addressing this issue from time to time. If I remember correctly, it started to become a noticeable trend about mid-decade (2005 or 2006) and has remained constant since then. Definitely good news.

I don't believe any of this false optimism until i get zman63's insightful interpretation of the data ...