Raleigh is growing faster; Dayton’s cost-of-living is lower

Lexis Nexis announced Wednesday it plans to move LexisNexis technology jobs to Raleigh, N.C. — a move that will shrink the company’s footprint in Dayton.

So to see how the two metro areas compare, we pulled data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Here’s this newspaper’s takeaway from the data:

1. When it comes to population, these two regions are headed in different directions. According to Forbes.com, Raleigh was the fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan statistical area between 2000 and 2012, jumping 47.8 percent.

Population

Dayton — 801,259

Raleigh — 1,189,579

One-year population percent change

Dayton — -0.08 percent

Raleigh — 2.31 percent

2. Daytonians are less likely to have 4-year degrees. In addition, the region has fewer nearby research universities compared to Raleigh.

Percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher:

Dayton — 26.5 percent

Raleigh — 42.5 percent

Research universities within 30 miles of downtown:

Dayton — Wright State University and University of Dayton

Raleigh — Duke University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

3. The Dayton region has a much lower cost-of-living.

Median rent

Dayton — $751

Raleigh — $912

Median home value

Dayton — $122,700

Raleigh — $206,000

Average household income

Dayton — $63,752

Raleigh — $82,859

Percent living below the poverty level

Dayton — 16.9 percent

Raleigh — 12.3 percent

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