PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The reason why so many young people leave the county is no surprise. Jobs.

 

According to a survey of nearly 3,000 young adults who have either left the county or currently live in the county shows that the No. 1 reason the young have left or consider leaving is a lack of quality jobs.

 

The survey showed young adults like the area — with 74 percent calling it a desirable place to live — but they move because of higher-paying jobs elsewhere.

 

"None of this is really surprising to us but it reinforces what we've heard over the years," said Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Planner Mark Maloy, who conducted the survey. 

 

Topping the list at 63 percent for reasons young people leave is jobs followed by 55 percent for a lack of things to do; 54 percent said the work they want to do isn't available, and 40 percent said there was a lack of nightlife. Of those who have left, 67 percent said it was because the work they want to do isn't available, 49 percent found better paying jobs elsewhere, and 41 percent said it was for lack of things to do.

 

"Seventy-four percent of respondents consider the Berkshires a desirable place to live. We consider that good news. They want to live here," Maloy said.

 

In fact those who have left said they would return. Of those who left, 86 percent of respondents enjoyed living in the Berkshires, 72 percent miss the county, and 58 percent would return if their current job and salary was available. The top reasons for returning is family (76 percent), natural scenery (73 percent) and outdoor recreation.

 

Bleakly, only 40 percent actually think they will some day return.

 

The 26-page report is the first step officials have made in tackling the county's decline in population. The forecast shows some 12,420 people leaving over the next 15 years. The trend continues outward and would leave the Berkshires with only 80,695 people in 2060, including a 28 percent drop in school-aged children.

 

"We have a big gap in the young, working adults," BRPC Executive Director Nathaniel Karns said. "It is pretty dramatic to see what our age structure is ... the situation will only get worse for the next 30 to 40 years."

 

Such a population drop could wreak havoc in the county's economy, particularly with home values. But as it stands now, quality housing that is affordable to young professionals is one of the biggest needs. 

 

Maloy says the housing stock is filled with aging buildings and very nice houses in areas too expensive for young people. The right-priced homes are located in bad neighborhoods or need expensive repairs.

 

"We're not talking subsidized housing but affordable to the average working person," Maloy said.

 

Karns added, "you can afford to buy a house in some parts of the community and in others it is very difficult."

 

The survey also showed some contrasting opinions among natives and non-natives, those who never left and those who left and returned. Maloy said natives who moved away and then returned reported enjoying the area at a much higher rate than those who never left.

 

Natives who never left tend to cite crime, drug use, and a "general depressed nature of the area" while non-natives and those who left and returned reported those issues significantly less.

 

Forty-three percent of those who returned planned to stay; only 28 percent planned to relocate again.

 

Maloy says some of those results show a "grass is always greener" concept in that those who have never left have a more negative view of the county and have a higher desire to leave. 

 

Education plays a role in that, too.

 

"Those with less education have a higher percentage of wanting to leave. But fewer actually leave as compared to those with more education," Maloy said.

 

The more education a respondent had, the more he or she enjoyed the region, the survey showed. Agewise, enjoyment of the area grows once a young adult hits his or her 30s. Those more likely to leave are 25 years old or younger and those more likely to stay are in their 30s. 

 

The survey is eyed to help officials narrow their focus as various groups target ways to halt or reverse the population trend. Maloy says the focus should be on economic opportunities for all education levels, improving educational offerings (many left for graduate college programs), increasing affordability of quality housing, revitalizing downtowns, developing more activities and marketing better the recreational opportunities, and investing in transportation methods such as bike paths. 

 

BRPC also released the results of an age-friendly survey on Thursday. iBerkshires will be reporting on those results in the coming days. 

 

Below is the report of the young adult study.