Baby boomers’ migration

Baby boomers are rapidly retiring and, unlike many of their parents, are on the move. N.C. State University economist Mike Walden takes a look at where they are headed for their golden years.

“First … a little background: Baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964. They are still a big part of our population, comprising 25 percent of all people. So what they do, where they live, what they spend still has a big impact on the economy, and they have been having an impact in terms of moving it. That is, they are moving with their feet to different locations.

“Census data show that increasingly baby boomers are moving out of the north. They’re moving out of the Midwest. And they are moving south. In fact, if you look at the years 2009 to 2012, the top states to which baby boomers over the age 55 moved to were Florida, number one; Arizona, number two; North Carolina, number three; and then South Carolina and Texas.

“So, indeed, North Carolina has been the third most attractive state to older baby boomers moving to over the last three years. And of course they can have a big positive impact on on our economy. They bring their pension. They bring their Social Securities to spend, and they don’t bring children to educate, which of course is a very costly endeavor for states and for counties.

“So big, big impacts of the migration of the baby boomers.”