Millennials are bound for downtown, as urban migration trends have picked up at a rapid pace.

Urban population growth is outpacing that of the nation as a whole, according to a U.S. Urbanization Trends report from CBRE Global Investors. Currently, 80% of the U.S. population lives in large cities, and that figure is expected to increase. By 2030, three-quarters of the workforce will be comprised of millennials, most of whom rate a short distance to work or school as the most important factor when choosing a community.

From 2000-2010, metros with populations of greater than 5 million increased their headcounts by 24%. Chicago tops the list—during the decade, more than 48,000 people moved to the Windy City's downtown (an area defined in the study as within two miles of city hall).

Meanwhile, the urban population of some metros is waning. New Orleans saw the largest decline in its downtown population, with 35,313 people leaving the city, during a decade defined by the tragic events of 2005. 

Here are the cities that reeled them in, and pushed them out, the most during the first decade of the 21st Century:

Top Cities for Urban Migration
1.       Chicago: 48,288

2.       New York: 37,422

3.       Philadelphia: 20,769

4.       San Francisco: 19,712

5.       Washington, D.C.: 19,502

Top Cities for Urban Population Decline
1.       New Orleans: 35,313

2.       Baltimore: 10,194

3.       Dayton, Ohio: 10,165

4.       Toledo, Ohio: 10,118

5.       Saginaw, Mich.: 9,674