Nearly half of San Diego County’s largest working group are considering leaving in the next two years, said a report released Thursday.

Forty-four percent of the region’s working millennials said they are considering leaving, with the primary reason being housing costs, said the new survey from the San Diego Regional Chamber Foundation.

In partnership with the City of San Diego, Sempra Energy and others, the researchers interviewed 397 San Diego County working millennials for the report. The purpose of the study was to identify millennial working habits, and how employers could make their experience more satisfying. But, the chamber acknowledged the answers about leaving were among the most dramatic findings.

“This data was so clear it was hard to ignore,” said Sean Karafin, the chamber’s vice president of public policy and research, at a press conference for the report downtown. “Our recommendation to public policy leaders is to find a way to incentivize more housing.”


Millennials, roughly ages 23 to 38, make up 39.7 percent of San Diego County’s workforce. It is followed by Generation X, 39 to 54 years old, at 31.6 percent, and baby boomers, 55 to 73 years old, at 22.1 percent.

A lack of skilled millennials in the region has caused concern for many business leaders, leading to a focus on the generation from several industry groups. Workforce shortages in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, led the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. to launch a campaign last year to attract STEM workers.

Many San Diegans have said they might consider leaving the region over the years but never did. However, the chamber study asked millennials if they were “very likely” to leave in the next two years. That group said housing was the biggest reason for leaving at 68.3 percent. They also cited a desire for higher wages, limited career advancement and state taxes.

Businesses may be limited in what they can do about housing but the chamber’s report offered plenty of advice on how to make work more satisfying for the generation.


San Diego millennials want to hear more from their bosses, desiring both formal and informal check-ins with managers. Millennials who have a supervisor that communicates the reasons for tasks and responsibilities are 61 percent more satisfied than those with a supervisor who doesn’t talk much.

Unfortunately for employers, 51.9 percent of survey respondents plan on leaving their job in the next six months.

Top reasons for staying at one place were schedule flexibility (57 percent), wages (41 percent) and interest in the field of work (27 percent). More than 30 percent cited a lack of meaningfulness at work as an important reason for low satisfaction.

In a myth-busting surprise, only 5.8 percent of San Diego millennials cared about workplace perks as a top driver of satisfaction. That compares to 22.1 percent who cited professional development opportunities.


Other interesting parts of the report that included Census and demographic data:

