During the early 1980s hundreds of thousands of people left Michigan for the South and the West, and the joke of the day was a reminder that the last person to leave Michigan should turn out the lights. Some of those people did return when things got better, and some new people moved here as well. Michigan survived this exodus, and during the ‘90s and into the early years of this century grew to more than 10 million residents.

Although there is always a lot of movement around the country and one in five Americans has traditionally moved every year, Michiganders seem to be rushing for the exits again. According to some, the state is hemorrhaging its best and brightest; and when everyone is done moving, we will end up with a smaller, older, and poorer state in 100 years.

There is a kernel of truth in these observations.Young people who graduate from college do look to move elsewhere for opportunities and lifestyles that may not be available in Michigan right now. But the reality is that young people have been leaving Michigan for decades after they graduate from high school and college, just like young people have been leaving other states where they grew up and went to school. They are looking to find opportunity and excitement, and in the words of Paul Simon, to “search for America.” Where they do not want to be—at least for a while—is where Mom and Dad live, whether it’s New York, Los Angeles or Michigan.

On the other hand, even in the worst of times some people will find work or be attracted by an appealing lifestyle and a very reasonable cost of living as a reason for moving to Michigan. Unfortunately, there are a lot more people leaving our state than moving in these days, and in the long run this can undermine our prosperity, our representation in Congress, and our image around the nation.  

Recently there has been a lot of discussion among politicians, business leaders, educators and others about how to keep young Michigan residents—college graduates in particular—from leaving the state. But this is not the only way to address this problem. What we also need to do to grow our economy and to build our future prosperity is to learn who is still moving to Michigan and why. What jobs are drawing in new residents? Are young people who leave returning to build families after a few years elsewhere? Are some people retiring to Michigan, at least during the warmer months? Are some out-of-state students staying here after they graduate? Do foreign immigrants see Michigan as a fertile place to start a business?

Since it has been nine years since the last census, we don’t know a whole lot of detail about the people who have been moving out of—or into—Michigan in recent years.  What we do have is some idea where the movers are going and where they are coming from.  

Not surprisingly, the top five destinations for Michigan residents leaving the state between 2005 and 2006 included Florida and California. Texas and Arizona were not far behind, each drawing about 10,000 Michigan transplants in just one year.

Contrary to what most people would guess, however, Ohio and Indiana together attracted more than 30,000 Michiganders between 2005 and 2006. Neither Ohio nor Indiana fits the profile of a highly attractive destination for Michigan’s “best and brightest,” and they both share some important similarities with Michigan, including high levels of manufacturing jobs and relatively high unemployment.  

What is surprising is that the same places that draw a lot of Michigan residents away are the same places that send people to Michigan. Four of the top five donor states are the same places that are drawing the most residents away from Michigan: Florida, Illinois, Ohio and California.

The fifth highest volume of movers to Michigan came from Texas during the same time when Texas was the seventh most popular destination for migration from Michigan. For 2005-2006, there were just about as many Michiganders moving to Texas as there were Texans moving to Michigan, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The most surprising result of all are the states that have actually sent more people to Michigan than were attracted to those states. Topping the list was New York with 4,700 moving into Michigan and only 3,200 moving out of Michigan for net gain 1,500 for our state.

When we find out who these people—and others like them—are, what brought them here, and what will keep them here in the future, we will start making some progress in restoring our economic vitality and prosperity.

Top destinations for young people

Next Generation Consulting, a Madison, Wisconsin-based market research firm, recently released its list of the “best cities for the next generation to live and work.”

The top ten cities in the 100,000 to 200,000 size category for “young, talented” workers includes a few surprises, and this list may point to some places from which the Greater Lansing area may get some helpful ideas.

		Laurence S. Rosen, PhD is the director of health programs at Public Policy Associates, Incorporated, a Lansing-based public policy research, development and evaluation firm with a nationwide clientele.