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. Â
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.)Â
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
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Source: Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images News via Getty Images
47. South Dakota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 31%
> Number of outbound moves: 139
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46. South Carolina
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 37%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,024
Source: wanderluster / E+ via Getty Images
45. West Virginia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 169
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Source: THEPALMER / E+ via Getty Images
44. Florida
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 7,978
Source: Sean Rayford / Getty Images News via Getty Images
43. Alabama
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,034
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Source: Jason Kempin / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
42. Tennessee
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 38%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,284
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Source: hapabapa / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
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
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Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images News via Getty Images
39. Rhode Island
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 365
Source: Mark Makela / Getty Images News via Getty Images
38. Delaware
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 294
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Source: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images News via Getty Images
37. North Carolina
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 41%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,234
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Source: DmitryPepper / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
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
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Source: George Frey / Getty Images News via Getty Images
34. Utah
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 45%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,123
Source: Go Nakamura / Getty Images News via Getty Images
33. Texas
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 46%
> Number of outbound moves: 10,357
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Source: grandriver / E+ via Getty Images
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
Source: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images News via Getty Images
30. Georgia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 47%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,122
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29. Arkansas
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 47%
> Number of outbound moves: 728
Source: David Ryder / Getty Images News via Getty Images
28. Washington
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 49%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,710
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Source: Janie Osborne / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
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
Source: Jon Cherry / Getty Images News via Getty Images
25. Kentucky
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,318
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Source: Al Knauber / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
24. Wyoming
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 312
Source: wanderluster / E+ via Getty Images
23. Indiana
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,493
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Source: Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images News via Getty Images
22. Colorado
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 50%
> Number of outbound moves: 4,668
Source: mrolands / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
21. Iowa
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 783
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images News via Getty Images
20. Virginia
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,919
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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images News via Getty Images
19. Nevada
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 51%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,615
Source: Michael B. Thomas / Getty Images News via Getty Images
18. Missouri
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,278
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Source: CRobertson / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
17. Mississippi
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 733
Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images
16. Wisconsin
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,669
Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images News via Getty Images
15. Maryland
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 52%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,442
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14. North Dakota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 53%
> Number of outbound moves: 315
Source: Alex Potemkin / iStock via Getty Images
13. Pennsylvania
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 53%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,379
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12. Minnesota
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 54%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,801
Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images News via Getty Images
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
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Source: Matthew Hatcher / Getty Images News via Getty Images
9. Ohio
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 56%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,598
Source: Sean Gardner / Getty Images News via Getty Images
8. Louisiana
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 57%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,436
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Source: KenWiedemann / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
7. Massachusetts
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 58%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,984
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Source: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. Michigan
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 58%
> Number of outbound moves: 2,727
Source: halbergman / E+ via Getty Images
5. California
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 59%
> Number of outbound moves: 15,836
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Source: John Moore / Getty Images News via Getty Images
4. Connecticut
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 60%
> Number of outbound moves: 1,734
Source: Victor J. Blue / Getty Images News via Getty Images
3. New York
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 63%
> Number of outbound moves: 5,714
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images
2. Illinois
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 67%
> Number of outbound moves: 6,181
Source: Arturo Homes/Getty Images / Photodisc via Getty Images
1. New Jersey
> Pct. of moves in state that are outbound: 71%
> Number of outbound moves: 3,770
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