When she was 27, Cameron Austin was living in the heart of Washington, DC, in a one-bedroom apartment that cost over $2,000 a month.
It was 2020, and buying the same-sized unit in her neighborhood would have set her back at least $400,000.
When her company went remote during the COVID-19 pandemic, she moved back to her hometown of Roanoke, VA. It was a temporary move, she thought.
“But within a year, I realized that one of the biggest benefits of remote work is the ability to pick where I want to live without sacrificing a high-quality job,” says the senior brand and content manager.
In 2021, Austin bought a 1,700-square-foot home in Roanoke with three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms for $290,000, when interest rates were around 3%.
“I loved DC and never thought I’d leave,” says Austin, who’s now 31. “But COVID changed a lot of things for a lot of people. When I realized we weren’t going back into the office full time, I started to shift my perspective to realize that I could have a great quality of life in a smaller town.”
Still, she admits there are some trade-offs.
“Do I miss living in a bigger city? Absolutely,” Austin says. “But the financial stability without having to sacrifice a great career is a win-win situation for so many individuals—including me.”
Small towns are gaining popularity
It’s the premise of millions of movies and songs: A young person flees their stifling small town for the bright lights of the big city.
Well, now, the opposite is happening.
Small towns and rural counties are attracting more millennials and Gen Zers, aged 25 to 44, according to a new study.
“Remote work and a tight labor market are continuing to allow many workers to have far more geographic flexibility in where they live,” notes Hamilton Lombard, a demographer at Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia, in his analysis.
Many of these remote workers are drawn to smaller communities for their affordable housing options, since most have been priced out of larger, more expensive markets.
Moving in record-setting numbers
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small towns and rural counties were the top relocation destinations within the U.S.—with an influx of 25- to 44-year-olds fueling population growth.
The country’s small towns and rural areas have been attracting younger adults at the highest rate in nearly a century.
From 2010 to 2013, only 27% of counties in rural and small metro areas saw an increase in their population of 25- to 44-year-olds. So far this decade, that figure has risen to an astounding 63%.
“If remote work remains much more widespread than before 2020 and labor markets stay tight, the 2020s are likely to offer workers more geographic flexibility than in any recent decade,” says Lombard.
He identified the top 10 small towns that have experienced a population boom among people aged 25 to 44, as well as the big cities that have experienced the biggest decline in this age group.
Cities with the biggest growth in residents aged 25–44
Median home price: $481,900
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 20,511
Change in this population (2020–23): +19%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +23%
Median home price: $499,500
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 5,416
Change in this population (2020–23): +15%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +21%
Median home price: $727,600
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 9,685
Change in this population (2020–23): +16%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +20%
Median home price: $429,500
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 9,703
Change in this population (2020–23): +16%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +19%
Median home price: $273,900
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 25,742
Change in this population (2020–23): +14%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +19%
Median home price: $408,500
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 14,710
Change in this population (2020–23): +11%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +18%
Median home price: $445,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 11,159
Change in this population (2020–23): +10%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +18%
Median home price: $379,900Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 15,499Change in this population (2020–23): +16%Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +16%
Median home price: $415,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 28,705
Change in this population (2020–23): +15%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +15%
Median home price: $425,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 13,047
Change in this population (2020–23): +15%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): +14%
Cities with the most outbound residents aged 25–44
Median home price: $1,200,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 1,463,714
Change in this population (2020–23): -7%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -12%
Median home price: $350,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 351,473
Change in this population (2020–23): -5%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -12%
Median home price: $625,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 282,981
Change in this population (2020–23): -4%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -9%
Median home price: $1,300,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 610,989
Change in this population (2020–23): -4%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -7%
Median home price: $589,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 391,377
Change in this population (2020–23): 0%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -6%
Median home price: $575,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 1,858,528
Change in this population (2020–23): -1%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -6%
Median home price: $990,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 990,612
Change in this population (2020–23): 0%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -5%
Median home price: $1,200,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 3,870,665
Change in this population (2020–23): -4%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -5%
Median home price: $799,900
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 5,617,895
Change in this population (2020–23): -4%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -5%
Median home price: $650,000
Population of adults aged 25–44 (2020): 1,612,305
Change in this population (2020–23): 0%
Difference (2020–23 growth vs. 2010–13 growth): -4%
By Julie Taylor