Many young people ready to leave Boston area, survey finds

With the region already grappling with workforce shortages, a quarter of young professionals living in Greater Boston intend to move elsewhere over the next five years as they navigate their career prospects and housing affordability, a new survey released Monday found.

While the vast majority of people ages 20 to 30 said they are overall satisfied with their daily lives in Boston, an "alarming" 25% of individuals do not intend to stay in the region for the long haul, according to the survey from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation and its City Awake program for young professionals.

"With this positive reflection of young residents and their experience in Greater Boston, it is imperative that the region's future and current workforce are able to stay in the region with a high quality of life and transformative policies and connections that amplify opportunities," the Chamber Foundation said. "With this survey, the Chamber Foundation is committed to using the data to understand and magnify the concerns of the region's young residents through essential convenings and the promotion of civic engagement and policy solutions."

The survey probed 823 young adults in November and December who live in Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk counties.

Results show that 27% of respondents were somewhat likely to stay and 38% reported they were very likely to stay. Another 10% were unsure or didn't answer.

Of the 25% of respondents who plan to leave, 16% were somewhat likely to do so and 9% were very likely, the survey found.

More than half of respondents said they feel like they have little to no power in state or federal government to make changes in the issues they care about, such as affordable housing, availability of quality jobs, and financial compensation and wages.

Gov. Maura Healey has offered a $4.1 billion housing bond bill to spur housing production and impose production-related policies like a local-option transfer fee. In the governor's economic development bond bill, Healey proposes strategies to attract and retain young workers, including creating a tax credit program for companies who hire interns from Massachusetts colleges.

House and Senate Democrats continue to review those bills in committee, and haven't signaled any concrete plans to act. 

The survey found Black women and LGBTQ individuals are more likely to plan to leave Greater Boston. Women ages 28-30, people who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander, and people in "management occupations" are more likely to stay in Greater Boston.

Survey respondents were asked about the importance of various factors guiding their decision to live in Boston. Cost of rent was important for 83% of respondents, job availability for 87%, ability to buy a home for 78%, efficient public transportation/mobility 72%, proximity to family 68%, and affordability and availability of child care 60%.

The survey also found a potential relationship between people who are dissatisfied with Boston and want to leave, and how difficult they find transportation to be on a daily basis. That could point to racial disparities, the survey said, since young people of color ride the T and bus at higher rates than their counterparts.

In the workplace, young adults reported high satisfaction levels with coworkers, but only 55% said they were satisfied with their pay. Only half said they were satisfied by opportunities for promotion at work.

In other potential explanations driving decisions about moving, 22% of young adults said they also found it difficult to build community relationships in Boston, particularly among LGBTQ individuals. The survey said more entertainment options, work-life balance and transportation would help improve community-building.

"To ensure that young residents want and choose to remain in Greater Boston, the most urgent issues of quality and available jobs, rent costs, and home ownership must be at the top of mind for public officials and the business community," the Chamber Foundation said.

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