More Than Half of US Graduates Work in the State Where They Studied
The News
Fifty-five percent of US workers with a four-year degree or higher are employed in the same state where they grew up and earned their diploma, and only 9% moved to another state for college and never came back, according to Strada Education Foundation's 'Talent in Motion' report, produced with the W.E. Upjohn Institute. States that retain their graduates tend to show stronger employment growth, lower income tax and higher wage premiums for degree holders. The report, covered by HR Dive, advises policymakers to invest in homegrown talent rather than 'wooing outside workers'.Why It Matters
This recasts 'relocation' as a sourcing assumption worth checking. If 55% of graduates stay put and only 9% are permanently mobile, a hiring plan that assumes you can pull early-career talent from anywhere in the country is quietly shrinking its own pool. Retention varies sharply by state — 78% of Michigan's college-educated workforce is homegrown versus 48% of Colorado's — which bears directly on where you place graduate and campus recruiting effort.Taking Action
All action is situated in your corporate context. These are starting points, not prescriptions — choose what fits.
Connect
Who to talk with in your enterprise
Your campus and early-career recruiting lead, plus your workforce-planning partner. Ask them to map where your last two cohorts of graduate hires actually came from against where your open roles sit. Then raise the report with finance: if your offices sit in low-retention states, relocation budgets may be subsidising a losing bet.Inspect
What to take a closer look at
Audit the geography of your recent graduate hires: what share were hired in the same metro where they studied versus relocated, and what relocation cost per hire. Cross-reference your target campus list against the report's state-level retention data and drop or de-prioritise campuses in states you historically fail to convert.Reflect
What to think about more deeply
If homegrown talent is 'the primary source of college-educated workers in most states', is your national relocation policy a growth lever — or an expensive habit?