States turn to boomerang migration to address workforce shortfalls amid youth exodus
Writer: Mirella Franzese
3 min read February 2025 — Young people are leaving the Midwest and South Central U.S. faster than they arrive, straining growth in low in-migration regions.
In Minnesota, where labor force growth lags the outflow of young professionals, policymakers are banking on “boomerang migration” to cap population losses and bolster their workforce.
“Minnesota’s workforce will not grow substantially in the future without major changes to migration patterns,” noted Minnesota State Demographer Susan Brower in a presentation to the Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee last month.
Boomerang migration refers to the return of young adults who left their hometown.
According to Dr. Bower, the out-of-state migration trend — while largely observed across U.S. markets — is both unprecedented and a matter of concern.
“Without the contribution of migration from other states or from other countries, we can expect this very, very slow growth to continue into the future,” Brower said. In 2023, Minnesota saw 3,000 of its young workers leave the state.
Minnesota’s shrinking workforce threatens long-term economic growth and labor supply, a challenge exacerbated by decreasing birth rates and an aging population, says Brower.
The need for workers is high in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, with 189,000 vacancies recorded in November 2024 by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
“The Midwest for decades has not been a net importer, or not been a destination spot above other places,” Brower said. “We’ve seen most of that migration center around the Southwestern United States and the Southern United States.”
Brain drain is hitting the Midwest the hardest, but South Central states are also seeing a sharp exodus of college-educated residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, the top 10 states were South Dakota, which topped the charts with a net loss of 72% of its college educated residents, followed by Mississippi (67%), Oklahoma (62%), Louisiana (62%), Missouri (62%), New York (56%) Arkansas (48%), Alaska, (48%), and Iowa (46%) and Alabama (45%). The data was cited in a 2024 report by moving service provider HireAHelper.
The report also highlighted that 73% of young professionals who moved away from home were motivated by out-of-state employment opportunities and job transfers, as well as homeownership and lack of affordability.
Texas, Florida, and North Carolina — neighboring states to those facing youth diasporas — have largely benefited from the youth relocation trend, attracting a huge influx of skilled and educated workers. Most out-of-state professionals who choose to settle in key metro areas in those states are drawn in by low tax policies, affordable housing, warm weather, lifestyle and a booming job market in high-demand industries, such as tech, healthcare, and real estate.
Part of the solution for Midwest and South Central states could be to encourage reverse migration by building out the talent pipeline in the region, as pointed out by Aysegul Timur, president of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).
“Employers across the region consistently tell us that FGCU graduates are their preferred hires. This growing region depends on us, and we grow alongside it,” Timur told Invest:.
Boomerang rates are higher for metro areas with robust job growth and lower for regions with high costs of living, although most estimates point out that, on average, between 25% to 33% of residents who move away eventually return home.
A Federal Bank of Cleveland report found a strong link between job growth and the number of boomerang migration from 1999 to 2023. Cost of living also played a critical role in reverse migration decisions over the same time period with higher priced regions — those with costs 5% above the national level — seeing fewer returnees, with out-migration return rates falling below 30%.
While boomerang and international migration could curb back the tide of a slowing economy in Minnesota, the state needs to build out its talent pipeline in order to attract skilled foreign laborers and recuperate lost professionals.
“The more we can do to address our workforce challenges, the faster our economy will be able to grow,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development Matt Varilek, in a keynote to the Minnesota Senate Jobs Committee.
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