Young Adults Have the Highest Rates of Moving Compared to Other Age Groups

The most common reasons for moving among all age groups are related to jobs, housing and family. Many of these moves are made between the ages of 18-34, an age group marked by the various life course transitions associated with moving.

These events include getting or changing a job, going to college, getting married and having children.

When economic conditions are good, the rate of moving is stable, regardless of age. However both the credit and housing crises, caused by the Great Recession, caused a large increase in unemployment, and the moving rate slowed down.

The American Community Survey identifies people whose current address is different from that of the previous year, and their statistics are being used for this analysis.

Here are some interesting facts about young adults and move rates:

• Young adults have a higher moving rate than the total population.
• During the 3 years of the recession (2007-2009) the number of young adults who moved decreased by around 500,000 people.
• Adults in the 18-24 age group had the highest moving rate when compared to the 25-29 and 30-34 groups, both during the recession, and subsequently.
• Young adult females ages18-24 moved more frequently than young adult males.
• Foreign-born young adults moved more frequently than their native born peers.
• Young adults with a college degree were impacted less by the recession as those with less education.
• Many smaller metro areas, especially those with colleges, had a larger share of young adults who moved than did larger metro areas.

Marketing to young adults is critical to most companies. I’ve written extensively on Why New Mover Names Work, and a crucial element is because young new movers want to establish their independence. This is the most critical time to introduce your product or service to this audience. This is when they are establishing life long relationships – whether it is with a bank, stockbroker, insurance agent, car dealership, department store, credit card, etc.

When it comes to lifetime value of a customer, nothing compares to beginning the relationship when the prospect is a young adult.

Avrick Consulting, Inc. is a marketing consultancy, with experience in using critical data, marketing strategy and proven creative concepts to grow businesses. For additional information, visit www.avrickconsulting.com or call 805.963.8888.