Miami is an area that caters openly to youthful urges. Clubs are open till the wee hours. The cultural scene continues to grow. We've got beaches and bike gatherings and bacchanals galore, but perhaps the metro area isn't so great at catering to youthful needs.
The Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach metro area continues to shed its millennial population at an alarming rate. Between 2007 and 2009, there was a net population loss of 6,530 residents between 25 and 34 years old, the fourth-greatest loss of any major metro area in America (topped only by the considerably larger NYC, L.A., and Chicago areas). Between 2010 and 2012, the area lost another 2,639 millennials according to the Wall Street Journal, the eighth-biggest net loss.
This occurred even as the area's total population continued to grow.
And the millennial population we do have isn't particularly engaged. A 2012 National Conference of Citizenship and University of Florida study shows millennials in the Miami area are some of the least civically engaged in the nation.
The area's median age as of 2010 was a relatively gray 39.4 years old.
Hmm, but why could this all be?
Could it be that Miami's economy still hasn't fully recovered from the recession and unemployment remains relatively high?
Could it be that efforts to diversify that economy and attract high-paying tech industry jobs are still nascent?
Could it be that post-real-estate-bust development has tended toward the high-end luxury condos and is openly marketed to people who don't even plan to live here full-time and treat it like some sort of exclusive currency?
Could it be that type of development is creeping into areas that were once attractive to and affordable for millennials?
Could it be that Miami's income disparity remains out of control and higher than many parts of the Third World?
Could it be that millennials figure there's no use in moving here because Miami might be half underwater in their lifetime anyway?
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
