People Want to Leave Illinois and Connecticut

The states people would most like to flee have large populations, are poor or have had high unemployment since the start of the recession. The states where people would like to stay are the Plains States, and also Texas. Almost all have small populations spread across many square miles.

The states people would most like to leave are Illinois (50%), Connecticut (49%), Maryland (47%), Nevada (43%), Rhode Island (42%), New Jersey (41%), New York (41%), Massachusetts (41%), Louisiana (40%) and Mississippi (39%).

READ MORE: Where Are the Best States to Live?

At the other end of the spectrum are the states that the smallest percentage of residents would like to leave: Montana (23%), Hawaii (23%), Maine (23%), Oregon (24%), New Hampshire (24%), Texas (24%), Colorado (25%), Minnesota (25%), South Dakota (26%) and Wyoming (27%). Unemployment across the Plains States has been the lowest since the recession and continues to be so.

Gallup researchers report:

Thirty-three percent of residents of the 50 states want to move to another state. Seventeen states come close to that 50-state average. Another 16 are above the average range, including three showing an especially high desire to move. In fact, in these three — Illinois, Connecticut, and Maryland — roughly as many residents want to leave as want to stay.

Gallup researchers also report that most of the states residents would like to leave are among those they plan to leave in the next year:

In the same poll, Gallup asked state residents how likely it is they will move in the next 12 months. On average across all 50 states, 6% of state residents say it is extremely or very likely they will move in the next year, 8% say it is somewhat likely, 14% not too likely, and 73% not likely at all.

The combined percentages reporting they are extremely, very, or somewhat likely to move out of state ranges from 8% in Maine, Iowa, and Vermont to 20% in Nevada. Although these figures are still high relative to the actual percentage of Americans who move out of state each year, they provide a basis for evaluating each state’s risk of losing population that is somewhat stronger than the sheer desire of its residents to move.

Based on the low income levels in some of these states, it is fair to ask how many people can actually afford to move.

State leaders have important reasons for wanting to see their state populations grow rather than shrink. A growing population usually means more commerce, more economic vitality, and a bigger tax base to pay for state services. A shrinking population not only hurts government coffers, but can weaken a state politically by virtue of the potential loss of U.S. House members through redistricting every 10 years.

For politicians, the financial math for getting people to stay where they are is simple. However, getting them to do so, based on the economic situations in many of these states, is very hard.

READ MORE: States With the Lowest Taxes

Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June to December 2013, with a random sample of approximately 600 adults in each state, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.