Millennial Migration: How young professionals are changing the demographics of downton Baltimore (Towson: 2014)

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Checkmate!

Millennials fuel downtown Baltimore's neighborhoods - Baltimore Sun

City sees jump in young, college-educated residents
By Natalie Sherman, The Baltimore Sun



Julia Culatta, center, 26, of Federal Hill, plays with her dog, Tilly, whom was named for Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman, as Laura Oliver, second from right, 26, of Federal Hill, and Kathleen Welch, right, 23, of Hampden, stand nearby during Baltimore Social bocce ball games. Towson... (Steve Ruark, Baltimore Sun)

It's difficult for longtime Baltimoreans to say when exactly the young college graduates started moving into the neighborhoods clustered around downtown. But at some point they were everywhere, some 25,000 of them, toasting at bars, forming kickball leagues and jamming the free Circulator buses.
"These things take a little while to catch on, and then one day, they really rocket off," said Tim Barnett, 32, who moved to Mount Vernon from Texas in 2006 for a taste of city life. He expected to spend just a few years here, but he's stayed. He now works for Zipcar and is one of the organizers of the Baltimore Bike Party, a monthly event that attracts hundreds of people for a nighttime ride through city streets.
"It's at this tipping point, and it's tipping to the better side," he said. "Every day more and more people are getting involved with something else cool and awesome and beneficial."
Caption U.S. cities seeing growth in college graduates: St. Louis USA Today Sports
St. Louis has seen a 138 percent increase in young college graduates.


Caption Miami Getty Images
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area has seen a 118 percent increase in young college graduates.


Caption Los Angeles MCT
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area has seen a 94 percent increase in young college graduates.


Caption Baltimore Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore-Towson area has seen a 92 percent increase in young college graduates.


Caption San Diego Reuters
The San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos area has seen a 91 percent increase in young college graduates.

A new analysis of census data has quantified the explosive growth. It found that the number of college-educated people ages 25 to 34 living within three miles of Baltimore's central business district increased 92 percent from 2000 to 2010. Their numbers grew from about 13,000 to 25,000, according to the study released last week.
The increase was the fourth-highest among the 51 metro areas in the study, which included Boston, Memphis and New York. And it occurred despite an overall decline in population in those Baltimore neighborhoods during the period.