By Terri Dee, producer
Public News Service
August 10, 2026
College graduates who leave Indiana for jobs after receiving their degrees have been a longstanding dilemma in the state. As more industries statewide seek workers to meet their labor demands, one education nonprofit says institutions of higher learning can play a huge role.
A Strata Education Foundation for the Future of Work report says one of its key findings was that half of college-educated individuals age 50 and younger identify economic opportunities as their primary motivation to leave their home state.
Managing Director Peter Bahr, PhD, said there are some marked differences in how Indiana is building its college-educated workforce.
“So many states have set very, very ambitious goals to expand their college-educated workforce. Indiana is one of them. But states are making investments in this space to achieve these goals without critical information about where their college-educated workers actually come from,” Bahr said.
The study, “The Talent in Motion: Interstate Migration of College-Educated Workers,” also reports that about 62% of Indiana’s college-educated workforce graduated from Hoosier high schools and colleges, compared to the national figure of nearly 55%.
The share of the college-educated workforce that moved to Indiana from other states is around 16%, compared with the national average of 24%.
Indiana’s colleges and universities have an important role in retaining graduates for the state’s workforce, which can diminish the “brain drain,” Bahr explained.
Bahr said the study is not prescribing a particular policy solution because every state’s context is unique, but Indiana and other states’ policy priorities should be informed by a clear understanding of their own college-educated workforce.
“Colleges and universities need to make sure the programs they offer are connected to real opportunities in the workforce, and then reinforce those bridges to quality jobs by engaging local employers in critical work-based learning opportunities for their students,” Bahr said.
The study also indicates migration patterns differ by field of study. College-educated workers with degrees in engineering, architecture, math, computer science, or the arts and humanities are more likely to live and work in a state different from the one where they attended high school or college.
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