#Post college towns teem with college-educated young adults, jobs Young adults spend leisurely time at Marion Square in Charleston, SC. Jessica Duggan grew up in this starchy historic city in the 1990#s. She remembers field trips with her mother to the historic Battery neighborhood, watching touristsdoing the horse thing and the market thing. She dreamed of staying here as an adult. But she had to admit that her hometown was hopelessly uncool. Fast-forward more than a decade and you d hardly recognize the place. A booming tech start-up economy and a thriving arts and restaurant scene have helped this old Civil war tourist magnet do something that places across the USA have been trying to do for decades: attract young, college-educated workers and keep them there as they start families. The mild weather and easy access to nearly 200 miles of beaches don t exactly hurt. I always knew I wanted to end up here, says Duggan, 23. It becoming cooler is a plus. Charleston now teems with college-educated young people, 20-and 30-somethings who have come for the jobs and stayed for the lifestyle. New bars and restaurants seem to open weekly. Average commute times hover around 10 minutes. At the gas station on the way home, you can fill your growler with craft-brewed beer. This is a new kind of city born of deep demographic shifts and the power of technology. Where traditional college towns have attracted long young people who get an education and then leave, another kind of town is emerging: the post-college town. Charleston is one of the smaller cities in this emerging brand of urban center. It joins larger ones such as Seattle, San francisco, Boston, Minneapolis and Washington, D c. They re 20-something magnets that don t just survive but thrive. Among those with the highest ratio, several are old-fashioned cities such as Charleston, and Alexandria, Va.,places designed before automobiles arrived. Several of the most popular cities have become an important part of New Urbanism, which models development around mixed-use development and pedestrian-friendly spaces. These places seem to be built for people not for automobiles, says University of Nevada-Las vegas demographer Robert Lang. And the 20-somethings love the people, not the automobile. Using recent U s. Census data, USA TODAY has identified 289 cities that have more 20-somethings than teens in the case of Charleston and about a dozen other cities, it s 2-to-1 or higher. The higher the ratio, the stronger the local pull for young adults. That s key, because city residents who are ages 10 to 19 mostly grew up there. But those who are 20 to 29 are much more likely to have moved to a city to attend college follow a boyfriend or girlfriend, get married or relocate for a job. A high ratio is also an indicator that many young people simply never left. MILLENNIAL MAGNETS Some cities have become strong magnets for young adults. For cities over 100,000 people, ratio shows the number of people ages 20 to 29 for every 100 teens. U s. ratio=103 to 100. NAME TOTAL POP. 2012 PEOPLE 20-29 PER 100 TEENS Arlington, Va. 209,077 344 Cambridge, Mass. 105,026 303 Alexandria, Va. 140,337 284 Gainesville, Fla . 124,981 241 San francisco 807,755 239 Seattle 612,916 232 Provo, Utah 113,105 223 Boston 619,662 214 Fargo, N d. 106,005 210 Madison , Wisc. 234,586 210 Tallahassee 181,821 209 Tempe, Ariz. 164,139 207 Norfolk, Va. 243,056 203 Charleston, S. C. 120,903 197 Knoxville , Tenn. 179,973 195 Minneapolis 385,023 195 Orlando 240,185 192 Richmond, Va. 205,348 192 Washington 605 759 191 Springfield, Mo. 160,246 188 Austin 799,939 186 Columbia, Mo. 109,008 185 Berkeley, Calif. 112,662 183 Denver 604,356 181 Salt lake city 186,740 181 Ann arbor, Mich. 114,725 180 Atlanta 425,931 177 Pittsburgh 306,430 176 Jersey city 248,435 175 Portland, Ore. 585,888 175 Athens-Clarke County, Ga. 116,353 171 Everett, Wash. 103,135 171 Fort Collins, Colo. 144,329 171 Murfreesboro, Tenn. 109,172 171 Lansing , Mich. 114,537 170 Columbus, Ohio 790,168 167 Norman, Okla. 111,753 165 Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. 605 859 164 Costa Mesa, Calif. 110,322 160 Denton, Texas 115,098 160 Killeen, Texas 127,995 160 Lincoln, Neb. 259,218 156 Lubbock , Texas 229,428 156 Columbia, S. C. 129,757 155 Eugene, Ore. 156,222 155 Savannah, Ga. 137,690 155 Wilmington, N c. 107,116 155 Honolulu 341,727 154 Cincinnati 297,314 153 Fayetteville, N c. 200,439 153 Lexington-Fayette, Ky. 296,766 153 Abilene, Texas 118,484 152 Enterprise , Nev. 113,150 152 Miami, Fla. 401,927 152 Durham, N c. 229,963 151 Pasadena, Calif. 137,316 151 San diego 1 308,619 151 Spring Valley CDP, Nev. 178,673 151 St louis 318,527 151 Sunnyvale, Calif. 141,123 150 Baton rouge 229,174 149 Clarksville, Tenn . 133,583 149 New haven, Conn. 129,898 148 New orleans 341,407 146 Metairie, La. 138,369 145 Sioux falls, S d. 154,526 145 Grand Rapids, Mich. 189,340 144 Chicago 2, 702,471 143 Baltimore 620,644 142 Daly City, Calif. 101,538 142 Spokane, Wash. 208,701 142 Evansville, Ind. 119,226 141 Lafayette, La. 120,757 140 Raleigh, N c. 405,007 140 Paradise CDP Nev. 220,202 139 Birmingham, Ala. 213,180 138 Dallas 1, 207,202 138 Fort lauderdale 167,370 138 New york 8, 199,221 138 Santa clara, Calif . 116,301 138 Bellevue, Wash. 122,873 137 Newport News, Va. 180,831 136 Philadelphia 1, 525,811 136 Little rock 193,691 135 Rochester, N y . 210,967 135 St paul 286,171 135 Oakland 392,890 134 Chattanooga, Tenn. 167,869 133 Hayward, Calif. 145,165 133 Irving, Texas 217,021 132 Reno 226,305 132 Stamford, Conn. 122,878 132 Wichita Falls, Texas 104,152 132 Boise 208 332 131 Manchester, N h. 109,786 131 Waco, Texas 124,843 131 Greensboro, N c. 270,619 130 Houston 2, 107,449 130 Lakewood, Colo . 143,496 130 Rochester, Minn. 106,903 130 Tucson 521,695 130 Kansas city, Mo. 459,772 128 Sacramento 467,467 128 Brandon, Fla. 102,555 127 Los angeles 3, 804,503 127 Oklahoma city 581,094 127 Augusta-Richmond County, Ga. 195,646 126 Des moines 204,362 126 Lowell, Mass. 106,739 126 Providence 178,185 126 Albuquerque 545,083 124 Buffalo 261,955 124 Charlotte 740,931 124 Elizabeth N. J. 124,795 124 Fullerton, Calif. 135,419 124 Hampton, Va. 137,471 124 Huntsville, Ala. 179,855 124 Independence, Mo. 116,513 124 Clearwater, Fla. 108,138 123 Syracuse, N y. 144,703 123 Billings, Montana 104,374 122 Indianapolis 822,006 122 Tacoma, Wash. 200,013 122 Worcester , Mass. 181,473 122 Anchorage 291,470 121 Green bay, Wisc. 104,226 121 Jacksonville 823,652 121 Oceanside, Calif. 167,799 121 Omaha 412,689 121 Tampa 339,391 121 Tulsa 391,486 121 Virginia Beach, Va. 439,528 121 Glendale, Calif. 192,537 120 Cedar rapids Iowa 126,921 119 Peoria, Ill. 114,754 119 Pompano Beach, Fla. 100,819 119 Richardson, Texas 100,057 119 Westminster, Colo. 106,750 119 Concord, Calif. 122,683 118 Erie, Pa. 101,454 117 Milwaukee 594,328 117 Toledo, Ohio 287,487 117 Newark 276,478 116 Orange, Calif . 136,891 116 Salem, Ore. 154,835 116 Shreveport, La. 200,099 116 Springfield, Ill. 115,982 116 Topeka 127,312 116 Bridgeport, Conn. 144,446 115 Richmond, Calif. 104,225 115 Vancouver, Wash. 162,699 115 Wichita, Kansas 381,176 115 Hialeah, Fla. 226,837 114 Memphis Tenn. 651,050 114 Mobile, Ala. 195,239 114 St petersburg, Fla. 245,363 114 Akron, Ohio 199,955 113 Colorado springs 417,534 113 Fairfield, Calif . 105,407 113 Long beach 463,589 113 Montgomery, Ala. 205,516 113 Aurora, Colo. 326,249 112 Burbank, Calif. 103,420 112 Huntington Beach, Calif . 191,403 112 San jose 954,379 112 Santa rosa, Calif. 167,207 112 Irvine, Calif. 213,880 111 Paterson, N. J. 145,655 111 Mesa, Ariz . 443,875 110 Midland, Texas 112,618 110 Scottsdale, Ariz. 219,867 110 Winston-salem, N c. 230 030 110 Yonkers, N y. 196,459 110 Arlington, Texas 367,154 109 Beaumont, Texas 117,769 109 Dayton, Ohio 142,670 109 Gresham, Ore . 105,612 109 Oxnard, Calif. 197,456 109 San antonio 1, 335,287 109 Allentown, Pa. 117,942 108 El Monte, Calif. 114,032 108 Louisville -Jefferson County, Ky. 597,231 108 Fresno, Calif. 495,777 107 Odessa, Texas 101,545 107 South Bend, Ind. 101,282 107 West Valley City, Utah 129,123 107 Hollywood, Fla. 142,060 106 Jackson, Miss. 174,382 106 Santa ana, Calif. 326,608 106 Amarillo Texas 191,118 105 Fort worth, Texas 743,865 105 Sterling Heights, Mich. 129,887 105 Vallejo, Calif. 116,417 105 Escondido, Calif. 144,311 104 Corpus christi, Texas 305,427 103 Hartford, Conn. 124,879 103 Kansas city, Kansas 145,605 103 Riverside, Calif. 306,128 103 Anaheim, Calif. 337,471 102 Cleveland , Ohio 397,972 102 Columbus, Ga. 191,278 102 Phoenix 1, 462,368 102 San Buenaventura (Ventura), Calif. 106,273 102 Chandler, Ariz. 237,456 101 Las vegas 587,699 101 Pueblo, Colo. 106,944 101 Thornton, Colo. 118,747 101 East Los angeles Calif. 126,751 100 Fort wayne, Ind. 253,617 100 Glendale, Ariz. 229,331 100 Inglewood, Calif. 110,225 100 Kent, Wash. 108,700 100 Rockford , Ill. 152,948 100 Columbia, Md. 100,735 99 Miami Gardens, Fla. 107,884 99 Garden Grove, Calif. 171,377 98 Salinas, Calif. 150,634 98 Waterbury, Conn. 110,074 98 Carrollton, Texas 120,727 97 Modesto, Calif. 201,986 97 Overland Park, Kansas 174,503 97 Rancho Cucamonga, Calif . 165,775 97 Pomona, Calif. 149,431 96 Sunrise Manor, Nev. 190,931 96 West Covina, Calif. 106,290 96 Fremont Calif. 215,188 95 Round Rock, Texas 100,764 95 Warren, Mich. 134,550 95 Bakersfield, Calif. 347,091 94 Elgin, Ill. 109,513 94 Flint, Mich. 103,263 94 Springfield, Mass. 153,278 93 Visalia, Calif. 123,905 93 Ontario, Calif. 165,260 92 West Jordan, Utah 103,846 92 Grand Prairie, Texas 174,631 91 Norwalk, Calif. 105,603 91 Henderson, Nev. 258,270 90 Pasadena, Texas 149,506 90 Stockton, Calif . 292,262 90 Antioch, Calif. 102,575 89 Aurora, Ill. 196,569 89 Carlsbad, Calif. 105,097 89 El paso 650,778 89 Olathe Kansas 125,902 89 Arvada, Colo. 106,965 88 Downey, Calif. 111,807 88 Pembroke Pines, Fla. 155,578 88 Torrance, Calif. 145,443 88 Chesapeake, Va. 223,233 87 Roseville, Calif. 119,537 87 Fontana, Calif. 196,129 86 Garland, Texas 227,641 86 Miramar, Fla. 121,447 86 Chula Vista, Calif. 242,499 85 Joliet, Ill. 147,098 85 Mcallen, Texas 130,297 85 Detroit 721,459 84 Lancaster, Calif. 155,496 84 Mesquite, Texas 139,615 84 Plano, Texas 263,122 84 Simi Valley, Calif. 123,942 84 North Las vegas, Nev. 215 762 83 Rialto, Calif. 100,009 83 San bernardino, Calif. 210,624 83 High Point, N c. 104,394 82 Moreno Valley, Calif. 193,758 82 Corona, Calif. 153,644 81 Peoria, Ariz. 154,566 81 Santa Clarita, Calif. 175,922 81 Cary, N c. 136,627 78 Laredo, Texas 236,063 77 Palm Bay, Fla. 102,814 77 Port St. Lucie, Fla. 163,748 77 Palmdale, Calif. 151,841 75 Victorville, Calif. 115,069 73 Cape coral, Fla. 155,405 72 Brownsville, Texas 175,210 71 Mckinney, Texas 131,882 71 Coral Springs, Fla. 122 219 70 Gilbert, Ariz. 208,850 70 Surprise, Ariz. 115,007 70 Murrieta, Calif. 102,345 69 Temecula, Calif. 100,621 69 Centennial, Colo . 101,339 68 Thousand Oaks, Calif. 126,570 68 Elk Grove, Calif. 151,639 67 Frisco, Texas 116,944 61 Naperville, Ill. 142,143 56 For Duggan, it s the latter. She attended the College of Charleston and graduated in 2011. At 23, she s already married she and her husband have named an English bulldog Winston, and she s editorial director at Bibliolabs, a small tech start-up that designs easy-to-navigate e-book lending websites for public libraries. The company founded eight years ago, employs 30 people, many of them software engineers. The median age hovers in the mid-20s, and several of her colleagues also say they re here to put down roots. WHERE THERE ARE JOBS#Alex Summer, a software developer from Newberry, S. C.,bought a three-bedroom house in suburban Mount Pleasant in 2009, and jokes that he ssettling down at age 27. You ve got the beach; you ve got the history; you ve got the tech opportunities, he says. He s also engaged, so he now hangs out atthe more chill spots downtown. Eric Bowman, founder of local software start-up Sparc, says that among his 140 developers, the median age is about 28. And most of them know more than he ever did at that age about software. These 25-,27-,28-year-olds are just blowing me away. In the past six months nine employees have left to start their own companies in town. Every one of our developers can get a job in five days he says, so you have to treat your team members fairly. Start-ups haven t been the only ones snapping up educated workers here. Boeing is expanding rapidly. The aerospace giant now assembles 787 Dreamliners at a rate of three a month at a massive facility adjacent to the Charleston airport, and over the next three years it plans to hire about 600 more information technology employees, bringing its total number of workers in the region to about 8, 000. City planners in Alexandria, Va, . which ranks third in USA Today s post-college town ranking, have pushed to integrate commercial development, land use and transit to create a city that allows residents tolive, work and play in the same space, City manager Rashad Young says. When Young thinks of the young professionals in Alexandria, he says he imagines they re thinking, I want activity, energy, vitality I want to be able to get places quickly. I want there to be a concentration of activity that I don t necessarily have to drive to get to. I want easy access to places and things. The demographic change in Charleston has opened up previously sketchy neighborhoods for development a change that for many locals has been nothing short of breathtaking. The whole face of this city has changed in a year -and-a-half, says David Crowley, a co-owner of The Alley, a popular sports bar that boasts eight lanes of bowling. It s located in a rapidly changing industrial area about a mile north of downtown, and Crowley says the enterprise would have been unimaginable until recently. When he attended classes at the College of Charleston a decade ago, You didn t go north of Calhoun street. It wasn t safe. Now he gets so much business most nights he s got to lease 85 parking spaces from The (Charleston) Post and Courier across the street. Crowley and his partners built the venue from scratch inside an old liquor-distribution warehouse, and on a recent weekday evening a family with young children rented bowling shoes while a young couple, both of them 31, held a wedding rehearsal dinner in an upstairs event space. In between, an early-evening crowd drank beer, watched live golf on big-screen TVS and played retro coin-operated video games. They re in Charleston to live in Charleston says Crowley. WORK, OR KITE-SURF? Two miles north on Meeting Street, workers are putting the finishing touches on a 13,000-square-foot renovation of the long-vacant 1926 Standard oil regional headquarters building that soon will be home to about a dozen small creative businesses. This is truly what I consider the last frontier of the Charleston peninsula, says Lindsay Nevin, a young developer who is working with the city to build acreative corridor on Meeting Street, an industrial thoroughfare once dominated by car dealerships. It s already dotted with small artists storefronts and independent restaurants. A small-batch distillery recently opened down the street and Nevin, who bought the abandoned office building last June, has signed three-year leases with, among others, a glass sculptor, a potter, a photographer, a dressmaker, an art magazine and two interior design firms. Lisa Maki, a cofounder of the tech start-up Pokitdok it helps consumers find low-cost health care providers says 15 of the company s 23 employees are based in Charleston. All 15 are software engineers. She calls themour secret weapon and says she can hire good engineers here for about half the cost of comparable workers in Silicon valley. Maki says office space here isprobably a quarter of the price of comparable space in Silicon valley. Many employees want to raise their children in a less high-stress environment, and they love the ability to live close to work, she says. If the wind comes up, our kite-surfers head to the beach and then get online later. That s just what they do, Maki says. Much of the region s development owes its success to both public and private investment and upgrades in infrastructure. Government incentives helped to attract and keep companies such as Sparc. Projects such as the 2005 Cooper River Bridge, which connects downtown Charleston and Mount Pleasant, have helped outlying areas thrive. The bridge replaced a pair of notoriously narrow crossings. The area it helped open up now is home to some of the area s major employers including health-tech giant Benefitfocus, which opened in 2000 in a shuttered Walmart. When CEO Shawn Jenkins and a partner started the company, he says, People were telling me that you could never build a tech company here. They re now in the midst of an huge expansion at their headquarters east of downtown, which will add 1, 200 more employees by 2015. The company, which went public last September, develops software that helps employees manage workplace health and life insurance benefits. It has estimated an 20 million users. I was always a believer that this town was going to be awesome Jenkins says. He jokes that his recruiters often wait till it s snowing elsewhere in the USA to try tempting prospective workers to visit. Once they re at work, hisassociates, as he calls his employees, enjoy coffee from free Starbucks dispensers and Coke machines rigged to dispense drinks for 25 cents. One floor of their campus has been remodeled as asocial work space that resembles an open-floor loft or a high-end hotel lobby. Hoping to inspire his Web developers to design beautiful stuff, Jenkins has peppered the offices with handsome objects, including a small collection of Fender Stratocaster guitars and, in the middle of one workspace, a gleaming red Ducati 1199 Panigale motorcycle. Speaking of design, Charleston may bethe single most important city of inspiration to the New Urbanists who have pushed to redesign cities around more densely populated, pedestrian-friendly living spaces, says Lang, the demographer. He s seen it before, in places such as Alexandria, Va, . and Savannah, Ga.,both of which rank high on USA Todau s post-college list. They re young and they live in old cities, says Lang. Some of America s oldest cities have the youngest population. Via USA Today Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati S

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