Americans have become remarkably mobile in the past two years, with people changing cities and often states, too. And the state the most people are leaving is New Jersey.
Several reasons have increased the number of people who move. Among them has been a historically low mortgage rate – which makes housing less expensive – although that has begun to rise.
Another reason is the cost of living. People are relocating from the large coastal cities to inland metros with lower home prices, lower costs of living, and ostensibly a better quality of life. People have left places such as San Francisco and New York City, for instance, where home prices are three times the national median. (These are the most expensive cities in which to buy a home.)
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed millions of people to work from home. This, in turn, has created a culture that allows people to remain away from offices permanently.
The states and cities people have left (and gone to) vary widely. To provide an analysis of this, United Van Lines has released its 45th Annual National Movers Study, which reveals the top states people moved to and from last year. Researchers tracked migration patterns on a state-by-state basis, basing their study on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states (plus District of Columbia), and ranked them based on the inbound and outbound percentages of total moves in each state. (Moving isn’t the only reason populations decrease. Deaths, decreased fertility rates, and reduced immigration are others. These are America’s fastest shrinking states.)
Click here to see the states the most people are leaving
New Jersey topped the list with 71% of the moves being outbound. It has held the top spot for four years. It was followed by Illinois at 67%. The state with the most inbound moves was Vermont, with 74%.
48. Vermont
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 26%
> Number of outbound moves: 106
[in-text-ad]
47. South Dakota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 31%
> Number of outbound moves: 139
46. South Carolina
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 37%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,024
45. West Virginia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 169
[in-text-ad-2]
44. Florida
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 7,978
43. Alabama
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,034
[in-text-ad]
42. Tennessee
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,284
24/7 Wall St.
41. Oregon
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 40%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,332
40. Idaho
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 40%
> Number of outbound moves: 643
[in-text-ad-2]
39. Rhode Island
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 365
38. Delaware
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 294
[in-text-ad]
37. North Carolina
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,234
36. Maine
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 42%
> Number of outbound moves: 579
35. New Mexico
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 44%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,000
[in-text-ad-2]
34. Utah
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 45%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,123
33. Texas
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 46%
> Number of outbound moves: 10,357
[in-text-ad]
32. Arizona
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 46%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,460
31. New Hampshire
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 46%
> Number of outbound moves: 486
30. Georgia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 47%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,122
[in-text-ad-2]
29. Arkansas
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 47%
> Number of outbound moves: 728
28. Washington
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 49%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,710
[in-text-ad]
27. Montana
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 49%
> Number of outbound moves: 730
26. Oklahoma
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 49%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,130
25. Kentucky
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,318
[in-text-ad-2]
24. Wyoming
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 312
23. Indiana
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,493
[in-text-ad]
22. Colorado
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,668
24/7 Wall St.
21. Iowa
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 783
20. Virginia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,919
[in-text-ad-2]
19. Nevada
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,615
18. Missouri
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,278
[in-text-ad]
17. Mississippi
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 733
16. Wisconsin
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,669
15. Maryland
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,442
[in-text-ad-2]
14. North Dakota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 53%
> Number of outbound moves: 315
13. Pennsylvania
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 53%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,379
[in-text-ad]
12. Minnesota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 54%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,801
24/7 Wall St.
11. Kansas
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 56%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,521
10. Nebraska
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 56%
> Number of outbound moves: 953
[in-text-ad-2]
9. Ohio
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 56%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,598
8. Louisiana
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 57%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,436
[in-text-ad]
7. Massachusetts
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 58%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,984
6. Michigan
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 58%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,727
5. California
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 59%
> Number of outbound moves: 15,836
[in-text-ad-2]
4. Connecticut
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 60%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,734
3. New York
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 63%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,714
[in-text-ad]
2. Illinois
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 67%
> Number of outbound moves: 6,181
1. New Jersey
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 71%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,770
The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)
The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.