Good news for Michiganders - the state's fabled brain drain might not be as bad as you think.
According to a report issued last month by state demographer Kenneth Darga (CQ), Michigan and the other Great Lakes states are able to retain population at higher rates than national averages.
"A lot of reports tend to emphasize the most negative statistics, or place the most negative spin on statistics, though there are some statistics that are negative," Darga says.
Young people - especially those with advanced degrees, Darga says - are more likely to move around than their older counterparts, according to the report. That's true nationally, not just in Michigan.
"If you look at migration and degree status, as you go from one degree level to another, out-migration gets higher," he says. "People assume must have a terrible brain drain, but it's not true."
Nationally, 13.3 percent of workers between 22 and 34 with doctoral degrees out-migrate, according to U.S. Census stats supplied by Darga, but in Michigan only 9.2 percent leave.
Most Frost Belt states lose population, and Michigan's not the worst of the worst, despite the state's economic difficulties.
"There has been a slight increase in out-migration, and a decrease in in-migration since 2000, as unemployment has gone up, but it's not as drastic as you might think from reports you see in the media," Darga says. Young people are also likely to migrate to Michigan, though the number isn't quite high enough to negate those leaving, Darga says - still, Michigan is smack in the middle of states with a net population loss.
And a of young Michiganders with wandering feet may find themselves coming home after completing military service, education, or just to settle down and raise a family.
"It looks like roughly half the people who leave come back, and that's a little higher than national averages," Darga says.
Source: Kenneth Darga, State Demographer
Writer: Nancy Kaffer
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