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Wow! You can really see the "Donut Hole" phenomenon around the Twin Cities in Minnesota as both cities remain flat while the ring of suburbs surrounding them sprawl out like crazy. I don't understand it. I thought Minneapolis and St. Paul were nice places to live. Why are they shedding so many people to the suburbs?
A few reasons come to mind:
1. Both cities are still gaining new residents, but the new ones tend to be younger, childless people, and empty nesters moving in from the burbs. Meanwhile, the people moving out of the cities tend to be growing families who are seeking "better" schools, more room, and lower taxes. So the average household size is shrinking.
2. Immigration has also slowed down in the last few years, and the recent immigrants who have gotten an economic foothold are moving to the burbs and even to small towns like Worthington, MN and Owatonna, MN, both located 100+ miles from the cities.
3. There is intraregional migration from economically depressed rural ares in IA, SD and ND. Rural people who move to the metro tend to settle outside of the cities, for whatever reasons.
Wow! You can really see the "Donut Hole" phenomenon around the Twin Cities in Minnesota as both cities remain flat while the ring of suburbs surrounding them sprawl out like crazy. I don't understand it. I thought Minneapolis and St. Paul were nice places to live. Why are they shedding so many people to the suburbs?
Because people want cheap housing. Lots of space for a low price.
The same thing happened in LA vs. the Inland Empire. It's not a "Donut Hole" because it's on the coast. If there were cheap exurbs west of LA, people would move there.
Wow! You can really see the "Donut Hole" phenomenon around the Twin Cities in Minnesota as both cities remain flat while the ring of suburbs surrounding them sprawl out like crazy. I don't understand it. I thought Minneapolis and St. Paul were nice places to live. Why are they shedding so many people to the suburbs?
Lies, damned lies and statistics. Minneapolis is one of the fastest growing cities in the area in terms of numerical population growth. If 8,000 people move into a city with nearly 400,000 people, it doesn't get picked up on the radar. If the same number of people move to Shakopee or some place in Wisconsin, the county doubles in population. If you want to talk about something interesting, ask about why inner suburbs are still losing population to the City and to distant suburbs.
, ask about why inner suburbs are still losing population to the City and to distant suburbs.
Many people still think "newer" and "bigger" in the outer ring suburbia is better.
I think that craze has calmed down quite a bit with the housing bubble collapse along with the drying up of easy credit.
Thanks for the research, but I wonder why the loss in Monroe? Definitiely contrary to the rest of the state, even the Panhandle counties.
Monroe County comprises the Florida Keys. The cost of living there has skyrocketed due to massive hurricane insurance increases. I would also think that lower income people have been completely priced out of the area and have moved to take jobs in other areas of FL where COL is more affordable.
Wow that depopulation in West Texas running up to North Dakota and Montana is crazy
The area lacks job diversification, opportunities for young people, has extreme isolation, and limited social networks. Younger people there mainly migrate to the regional center towns and larger metro areas for jobs.
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