“I can visibly see the economic growth in Buffalo, and I want to be a part of that,” Dils said. “Or if I leave for a little while, I want to come back again.”

Economic growth hasn't benefited everyone or every industry, of course. Despite employment and wage gains over the past seven years, Buffalo's job growth lags both New York State and the United States as a whole. There are four local grads for every job opening in fields such as management and education, according to UBRI analyses.

Graduates of local schools also stand to make money in other cities, particularly in professions such as law and computer science. Graduates who leave the region, Emsi data show, most commonly go to New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston.

Still, Idania Ramirez, 21, applied for jobs in Buffalo – not her native Bronx – when she graduated from Daemen last spring. She now works as a legal assistant for a local law firm, having fallen for the region’s low prices, parks and “really good ice cream.”

Likewise Lauren Reczek, 22, who grew up in Cheektowaga and works in the student engagement office at Trocaire College. Visions of life in a downtown Buffalo loft forestalled her plans to move to Boston or Los Angeles.