Survey: Pursuit of better job opportunities pushing renters out of Philly

Millennials are coming to Philly, but they don't plan to stay.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway on a hazy and hot summer day.
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Though Philadelphia has been ranked as a top destination for millennials and renters alike, a recent survey from Apartment List showed that 75 percent of renters in Philadelphia plan to buy homes and settle down in different cities.

The main reason? Job opportunities.

More than 30 percent of the renters planning to move said that career opportunities were the main motive behind their decision; for Philly renters looking to move out of state, Washington, D.C. ranked as the top desired destination.

Within Pennsylvania, the top destination to move to was Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The survey took responses from more than 24,000 renters in the U.S. Philly’s top reason for pushing people out is in line with the rest of the country: the majority of those surveyed across the U.S. said they want to move for better job opportunities.

The two other biggest factors driving renters to move away from Philly are affordability and safety, respectively. Though Philadelphia’s housing market remains relatively affordable for renters, prices for prospective homeowners have seen massive increases in the last year, and rental units are following a similar pattern.

Washington, D.C., as well as Los Angeles and Atlanta were the top three destinations cited for renters.

Though the majority of those surveyed across the country expressed the desire to move, renters in Sunbelt states like Arizona, Texas and Florida wanted to stay put.

Philadelphia is at least the most coveted in-state destination for renters hoping to move out of Pittsburgh, so the city does still carry some weight. Pittsburgh’s top out-of-state destination, however, was Morgantown, West Virginia, so who knows how these connections are forged.

To read the full Apartment List report, click here.