Now here’s where the The Young and the Restless In A Knowledge Economy report gets interesting…

The following stats from the report provide clearer evidence that the job-creating 25-34 year-old population is not only attracted to 24/7 cities like Austin, Seattle and San Francisco, but specifically to the urban centers of those cities:

Growth Rate of 25-34 Year-Old Population by Distance from Urban Center
1. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 26.8%; Outside 3 miles:

2. Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 25.4%; Outside 3 miles: 8.1%
3. Portland-Salem, OR-WA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 21.0%; Outside 3 miles: 11.3%
4. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 18.1%; Outside 3 miles:

5. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 15.5%; Outside 3 miles:

Relative Preference for Urban Center (In other words, a 25-34 year-old is 1.79 times more likely to live in Chicago’s urban center than everyone else)
1. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA 1.79
2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA 1.73
3. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA 1.69
4. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ 1.62
5. Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT CMSA 1.61

25-34 Year-Old College Attainment in Close-In Neighborhoods, 2000
1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ - Inside 3 miles: 71.6%; Outside 3 miles: 33.0%
2. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 69.5%; Outside 3 miles: 33.1%
3. Portland-Salem, OR-WA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 54.7%; Outside 3 miles: 26.2%
4. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 67.1%; Outside 3 miles: 38.1%
5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA - Inside 3 miles: 56.3%; Outside 3 miles: 32.4%