According to the last U.S. Census, only 7.5 percent of Chapel Hill’s population is comprised of non-student residents between 25 and 34 years old, compared to Durham and Raleigh’s 15.56 percent and 15.31 percent, respectively.
UNC graduate student Travis Crayton said though the town has made some efforts to retain young professionals, the measures are not enough to diversify its population age.
“When the town rezoned the Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard district in 2014, it did so with the thoughtful goal of creating a district that can be redeveloped to provide some of the housing and economic opportunities required to retain and attract young professionals,” Crayton said.
Crayton said the Chapel Hill housing market is still zoned for single-family development instead of the affordable rentals young professionals seek.
Chapel Hill Town Council member Jessica Anderson said if she were a recent college graduate, she would probably choose not to live in Chapel Hill, not only because of high rent, but also because of scarce job opportunities.
“Chapel Hill has a high cost of living relative to other places in the area, plus we haven’t done a great job of providing work opportunities for recent grads,” Anderson said.
Anderson said many start-up and high-tech companies have gone to neighboring areas that have made room for them.
Not only is the housing market more accessible in neighboring areas, but the Chapel Hill job market is very limited outside of UNC-related work.
