Survey says a quarter of young people will leave the area within five years

In the aftermath of the pandemic prompting Massachusetts residents to decamp for other, often cheaper locales, a new report warns that the state is at risk of losing even more of its lifeblood: young adults. A survey released Monday by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that an “alarming” 25 percent of Greater Boston residents between the ages of 20 and 30 plan to leave the region in the next five years, with the high cost of rent, job availability, and the ability to buy a home clocking in as the most important variables in their decision to stay or go. The findings echo COVID-era concerns that the astronomical cost of housing in Greater Boston, coupled with the geographic flexibility introduced by widespread hybrid and remote workplaces, will sap the region of its young talent. To be sure, 20-somethings have long come and gone from Boston. Young people often arrive in the area for academic programs and then leave to find work, a “brain drain” leaders lamented even before the pandemic. But the GBCCF study, conducted in November and December by Washington, D.C.-based research company HIT Strategies, pointed to contemporary challenges that contribute to a “heightened urgency” around ensuring the region is viable for future generations. The cost of rent and the availability of jobs tied for “very important” factors for young people deciding whether or not to stay here, at 66 percent, with the ability to buy a home trailing at 55 percent. (Affordable housing also ranked the highest, at 66 percent, for issues young people want local leaders to prioritize.) Among those surveyed, 42 percent reported renting their residence, 18 percent said they owned, and 27 percent lived with relatives for free. Other considerations for young people weighing whether or not to build a life here include efficient public transportation and mobility (41 percent), proximity to family (40 percent), affordability and availability of child care (38 percent), and racial and cultural diversity (36 percent). But the desire to leave is not distributed evenly. Black women and LGBTQ+ people were more likely to be thinking about leaving Greater Boston (35 percent and 31 percent, respectively), while Asian American and Pacific Islanders (77 percent) and millennial women (76 percent) were more likely to plan on staying.