Growing population sees young flock to city

BIRMINGHAM has seen a surge in the number of young people flocking to the city.

In 2002 there were one million people living in the city, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. By 2017, that number had climbed to 1.15 million people – an increase of 145,628.

While most age groups have seen a rise during those 15 years, the number aged between 21 and 30 has grown twice as fast, soaring by a third over the period. As of 2017 there were 199,390 young people in Birmingham. That is up by 49,690 people from the 149,700 in 2002.

That surge could be explained by younger people being more likely to want to work in a city in the hope of securing a better job and salary.

A 2015 report from the Centre for Cities found that : “Young people tend to prefer having good access to leisure facilities, culture, transport and jobs – which explains why students and young skilled professionals are attracted to city centre locations.”

The only group in Birmingham to see a fall in population between 2002 and 2017 was people aged between 71 and 80. In 2002 there were 62,281 people in this age range, a figure that had dropped to 58,893 as of 2017.

Rebecca McDonald, analyst at the Centre for Cities, said: “Our research found that the rejuvenation of city centre living has been largely driven by single twenty-something students and young professionals. Around one in three city centre residents are aged 20 to 29, and this proportion rises to almost half in larger cities.

“Young people are drawn to city centre living by a combination of access to jobs, leisure facilities and cultural pursuits.”