Young Professional’s Survey

Young professionals aged 21 to 40 are critical to the health of any economy. They are especially critical to the health of the Buffalo Niagara region, which is on the cusp of a sustained resurgence.

But over the next four years, data projections show that the Buffalo Niagara region will lose 1 percent of these young professionals. During that same time period, the population of young professionals nationwide is expected to grow by 4 percent.

That means that the Buffalo Niagara region will have to overcome a 5 percent gap in the population of young professionals as soon as 2022.

The time to act is now. This report—which represents the results of our second annual survey of young professionals in the Buffalo Niagara region—is the first step.

Recruiting and retaining young professionals in our region is more important than ever, and the long-term health of our region depends upon a healthy population of young professionals who have opportunities to grow their careers, put down roots, and participate in community leadership. As the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s program for young professional engagement and development, BN360 will use these survey results to focus our efforts to empower young professionals.

In these pages, you’ll learn more about young professionals in our region, find out what matters to them, and get an action plan you can use to help the Partnership and other regional stakeholders stem and reverse this trend.

Thank you, as always, for your support of the Buffalo Niagara region.