Philadelphia

‘Young and Restless' Moving into Philadelphia

A sharp increase of young, well-educated people — dubbed the "young and restless" — have moved into the heart of Philadelphia over the last decade burgeoning hope for continued economic and urban revitalization.

Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data, the city-focused think tank City Observatory found Philly saw a 76 percent increase in the number of 25-34-year-olds holding a four-year college degree living in the city’s urban core. That core is defined as a three-mile radius around the main business district.

This "young and restless" group is vital to a city’s economic growth and its attractiveness to other potential citizens and businesses, the think tank points out citing a number of studies. This group is also the most likely to move across state lines and more than 1 million young workers did in 2011. But once they hit 35-years-old, the chances of a move drops by half.

“The time workers are in their twenties and early thirties often determines which metropolitan area they will live in for most of their working career,” the report reads.

In 2000, the census found 28,317 people lived around Philly’s core in so-called “close-in” neighborhoods. Ten years later, that number jumped to 50,273, the report said. These young earners are living in neighborhoods that continue to see revitalization like Fairmount, South Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, Point Breeze and Graduate Hospital.

Philadelphia saw the seventh largest increase over the past decade with Cleveland directly ahead and Houston immediately behind. The largest increases were seen by St. Louis, Miami and Los Angeles.

The size of Philly’s “young and restless” has plenty of room to grow, the analysis found. The city came in 18th in percentage of adults that fit into the category. That's behind Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Boston, New York and Chicago, among others.

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