Zheng Guanghuai, a scholar from Nanjing University who focuses on China's social policy, said China's small towns and cities need to provide better public services if they want to see a return of migrant workers, as small cities do not offer better pay than mega-cities.

However hard urban life may be, it seems that migrant workers are willing to sacrifice some well-being to earn more money in cities.

Forty-three-year-old Liu Wu and his wife now work in Beijing. Far away in their hometown in southwest China's Sichuan Province, their parents have been taking care of their child, who is now a primary school student.

"I can only see my kid during his summer vacation because I sometimes don't even go back home during the Spring Festival holidays," said Liu, who now lives in a suburban rental home for 150 yuan (about $24.8) per month.

At last December's central urbanization work conference, China's leadership noted that the primary task of China's urbanization drive is to enable migrant workers to win urbanite status in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, small cities and towns still fail to retain migrant workers due to disadvantages in infrastructure, social security and economic environment.

According to the survey, most workers will only consider the option of coming home if they are able to earn at least as much in their hometowns as they do in cities. Social security and children's education were also cited as important factors.

About 88 percent of the participants in the survey were from the "post-1980" and "post-1990" generations.

Don't miss

Motorcyclists brave windchill for homecoming	Migrants feel pain of separation