Boston educates more founders of Inc. 500 companies than any other city, according to a study last month by the Kauffman Foundation (via Atlantic Cities). But the study confirms Boston’s greatest fear: the city loses more founders than any other metro in the U.S.

But the news isn’t quite as bad as it sounds, as the Kauffman rankings are based on the pure number of founders lost, rather than percentages. (Boston ranked highest in number of founders retained too, simply because we educate so many founders.)

While Boston does lose some founders, it attracts some too, albeit fewer. Still, the flow is net negative, as shown below:

While it’s hard to come to terms with founders wanting to leave Boston after getting their education, it’s not all that unfortunate of a reality. As the report explains:

Yet, while Boston lost a lot of companies, it also gained quite a few—creating dynamism that actually could be helpful. Indeed, given Boston’s place on other Top Ten lists, including most companies founded there, that seems to be the case. When examining movements across American metropolitan areas, Paul Kedrosky points to mobility as key for economic vibrancy, a view this data would appear to support.

It further suggests that all cities need not cling to the talent in their cities but may benefit from its free flow and flux

I’ve argued before that Boston should be easier on itself when it comes to brain drain, as it’s in part a function of what amazing universities we have. Higher ed is a key export for our state; lots of people come to Boston schools based on their quality even if they’re far from where they grew up, from family, etc.

By all means, let’s work to retain more of those founders. But it’s not a terribly surprising dynamic and, in the grand scheme of things, we’re still doing well.