Wisconsin college graduates in their 20s are leaving the state, even as older college alumni return and the state population rises overall.
UW-Madison LaFollette School of Public Affairs researchers Yeri Lopez and John Karl Scholz studied migration patterns of college graduates between Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. They drew data from the time periods 1975-'80, 1985-'90 and 1995-2000.
In all comparisons, Wisconsin loses college graduates who are 22 to 29 years old,"" according to the paper the researchers released.
The report also states that despite having a positive increase in migration of graduates 30 to 39 years old, overall Wisconsin is a net exporter of college graduates. Minneapolis and Chicago were the main places to which recent graduates moved.
In contrast, Milwaukee has neither attracted many young people from outside the state nor retained many natives.
Milwaukee has been experiencing a decrease in population and economic activity over the past 30 years, making it less attractive to new graduates, according to Dean of the UW-Madison Business School Michael M. Knetter.
""It's a tough nut to crack, it didn't happen in a few years,"" Knetter said, referring to the complexity of Milwaukee's economic decline.
Milwaukee's ""economic engine"" was built on a few large manufacturing companies, several of which were badly damaged over the last thirty years by globalization Knetter said.
Minneapolis, despite being more comparable to Milwaukee in size than Chicago, has a more diverse economy more appealing to new graduates according to Knetter.
The low housing costs, good K-12 schools and public services are what draw graduates back into the state according Stephen Malpezzito professor of real estate and urban land economics.
""They find the package Wisconsin presents more appealing in their 30s or 40s,"" Malpezzi said.
The findings come soon after a release by the Wisconsin Department of Administration stating Wisconsin is the only state in the upper Midwest to have more people move to it rather than leave it.
Despite the young college graduates leaving, Wisconsin in 2007 continued a trend shown over the past 10 to 15 years of having net positive interstate migration, according to DOA Demographer David Egan-Robertson.
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
