Why People Are Moving Out of the States on This List

The amount of people moving to Montana in recent years has started to slow down, which is probably a relief for locals after years of population growth and rising property prices. Despite all of the growth in recent years, Montana is still extremely rural in a lot of places, which means there aren’t a whole lot of good-paying jobs, or at least not enough to go around for everybody. 

Maryland is going through some of the same problems as other states in New England: high taxes and property prices are driving people away. Many retirees are deciding to settle elsewhere, but that hasn’t necessarily caused home or apartment prices to fall. Maryland is also a really small state so there isn’t a lot of room to go around. Maryland’s population shrank in 2023, but it was rising a couple of years prior. 

Michigan is another state in a somewhat unusual situation. The state has seemingly everything you’d want. There’s nature, there’s relatively cheap property in former manufacturing hubs, like Detroit, and there’s a ton of stuff to do. However, a lot of young people are leaving the state to find better jobs elsewhere. This is especially true in more rural areas, and places like Detroit have actually seen population growth after decades of exodus, according to some figures. 

Connecticut has a lot of things going for it, depending on what’s important to you when it comes to a place to live. It also used to have the most rich people anywhere else in the country, but that isn’t helping it much now when it comes to convincing people to stay. The state is suffering from a lot of income inequality, and there just aren’t enough high-paying jobs for everyone. 

Out of all the states on this list, we probably feel the worst when it comes to New Jersey. The state gets a really bad rap, which might be one of the reasons it leads to the number of people leaving for other states. There are a couple of different things behind New Jersey’s population loss. Birth rates have stagnated, and immigration to the state from outside the country has lessened. 

When it comes to Pennsylvania, there’s one thing on residents’ minds, and that’s the lack of good-paying jobs, especially outside of the marine urban centers. There simply aren’t enough of them, and this has fueled an exodus from the state. Combine that with relatively high taxes look to rise in a couple of years and it’s a recipe for disaster. The state’s unemployment rate is well above the national average, at 5.4%.

In 2023, Ohio saw a small bump in population, but that was after years of decline, and experts predict that the state will continue to lose residents in the future. Immigration from outside the country has been the main reason Ohio’s population hasn’t fallen more. Like a lot of other Rust Belt states, good jobs are much harder to come by in the state these days, which has driven people away.

Wisconsin is mostly rural, so it’s never had a huge population, but recent drops in population are a bit worrying. Despite being mostly rural, taxes are high compared to other rural states, and a lack of good-paying jobs has caused working-age adults and retirees to seek homes in other states. Wisconsin is also known for some pretty brutal winters, which just aren’t worth enduring for a lot of people anymore. 

Northern Virginia sits right outside of Washington D.C., and it’s seen its population remain steady or climb in recent years, but not so much in the rest of the state. Other, often more rural areas, are seeing people leave in droves. This is mostly due to economic reasons and a lack of well-paying jobs, which is a common problem around the country. That said, like a lot of other Southern states, Virginia has benefited from people moving there from big cities like New York. 

Like a lot of its neighbors, Maine is suffering from rising costs, and both seniors and young people are leaving the state for warmer climates and better jobs. Despite that, it’s still a beautiful place to live, with miles of picturesque coastline and some of the best seafood in the country. Unfortunately, you need to have money to enjoy all of that, and there aren’t enough good jobs to go around. 

Illinois has been losing people for a couple of years now, and it might have something to do with the economic situation in the state. Unemployment is pretty high at around 4.8%, which is the third worst in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This wouldn’t be as big of a problem if taxes weren’t so high in the state. Illinois usually ranks toward the top of most lists of states with the highest taxes. 

Minnesota’s bitterly cold winters are proving to be too much for people when they’re combined with stagnating wages and a higher cost of living. Oh, and relatively high taxes aren’t helping the state out, either. Despite all of this, it’s still a beautiful place to explore, and a couple of its cities are surprisingly lively and filled with things to do. Still, in the end, it’s all about the money. 

Utah saw a surge of people moving into the state during the early 2010s, but that trend has slowed down drastically since. Now, a large number of people are leaving the state for more opportunities elsewhere. Utah has some of the best national parks in the nation, but it doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to good-paying jobs, especially in more rural areas where they’re needed most. 

Massachusetts, despite being somewhat small, has always punched above its weight when it came to population, but more people have been leaving the state in recent years. Housing and rent prices haven’t helped. Those things have risen all over the country, but it’s been especially hard for many in Massachusetts to afford a simple apartment. That said, the state is still home to some of the best universities in the country. 

Missouri is right on the border of the South and the Midwest, so it has all of the benefits of both, but it also has all of the downsides. There have been a lot of large factory closings in the state recently. Missouri also suffers from the incredibly hot and humid summers typical in Southern states and the harsh winters you find in the Midwest. Much of the state is rural. 

Louisiana is one of the only states in the South where the population is actually declining. There have been some people moving to the state, but there have also been a lot of people moving out. They’re tired of having to rebuild after every story, only to be unsure if rising seas aren’t going to completely swallow their communities in the future. Add to that high levels of poverty, and it gets clearer why many are leaving. 

We know there’s more to New York than the city that bears the same name, but New York City has been driving the state’s population change in recent years. Along with California, New York City used to be where everyone wanted to move to, but that has started to shift. Since Covid, the Big Apple has seen a mass exodus of people leaving for other cities and states. It’s estimated that around 300 people leave the city every day, and you can probably guess why. 

Hawaii is another state that’s often been in the news for the amount of people leaving. There are actually more native Hawaiians living in California than on the islands these days. And all of that is due to skyrocketing property prices and not enough well-paying jobs for everyone to be able to afford rent. The state is one of the few that has experienced overall population losses in recent years. 

When most people think of Nevada, they usually think about Las Vegas, and it turns out that tourism is one of the state’s main industries. That’s usually okay so long as there are other good jobs. In Nevada, you’re pretty limited when it comes to employment, which is why a lot of people are choosing to move out of the state. This is truer in rural areas, where there are way fewer options. 

California used to be the dream, and it’s still a wonderful place to live. You have beaches, forests, and deserts. There’s something there for everyone. Well, at least almost everyone. California has been the poster child for rising property prices and high taxes. Even some of the smallest homes can set you back seven figures, depending on the location, which has caused a lot of people to seek opportunities elsewhere. 

Despite all of its problems, Florida has seen some of the most people drastic population changes in recent years. After Covid, tons of people from all over the country moved to Florida, and who could blame them? It’s like a natural paradise, or at least it was before all of the development. That might be why the state has also seen a large percentage of people leaving for other places. 

A lot of people are saying to themselves, “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” after moving out of the state. Kansas is another state with really high rates of outward migration, and this is mostly due to high-paying jobs and a lack of things to do. The overall unemployment rate is actually pretty low in the state, but a lot of those jobs don’t pay very well, especially if you’re a graduate who just spent a lot of money on a degree. 

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the Union, but it’s population has punched well above its weight for years. So, it’s not too surprising that a lot of people are moving away while rents and property prices are rising in the state. There’s only so much area to go around in Rhode Island, and it was bound to have a couple of down years after years of population growth. 

West Virginia and surrounding states have kind of been clobbered by the move away from coal. Before, coal mining was often the only decent employment you could find in a lot of areas, even if it was dangerous. For that reason, there isn’t a whole lot of economic opportunity, and people tend to move out rather than move in, despite the state’s great nature. But there has been some recent hope for West Virginia. 

North Dakota actually has the opposite problem of a lot of states on this list. There are a ton of opportunies in the state, but that’s partly becasue nobody wants to move there. It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, but a lot of people move out because there isn’t a whole lot to do in North Dakota. The countryside is beautiful if you lack vast landscapes. 

Despite it being incredibly rural, Nebraska has a pretty low unemployment rate. The only problem is that most of those jobs are somewhat low paying, and a lot of people have decided that they aren’t going to settle for making less money. A lot of young people are moving out of the state to put their degrees to use elsewhere, which spells trouble for Nebraska in the long run. 

Arkansas suffers from a lot of the same problems as its neighbor, Missouri. It’s gorgeous, but it’s also hard to find really good jobs in the state. The winters are a bit less harsh than some of the states to the north, but unfortunately, Arkansas is right at the tail end of tornado alley, and it’s not uncommon for bad weather to destroy homes and upend people’s lives during tornado season. 

Texas has seen the opposite trend, which has hurt California in recent years. There have been a lot of people moving in, but there have also been a surprising number of people moving out. The reasons for this aren’t entirely clear. Family reunification could be one reason since a lot of people from Louisiana have called Texas home ever since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. It could also be due to rising property prices. 

There are a lot of Southern states on this list that are seeing a high percentage of people moving both out and in. South Carolina, like many others, has seen a flood of people move to the state in recent years, but a lot of people are also leaving. Poverty rates are still pretty high in rural areas, and good-paying jobs tend to be located in more urban areas, which is a growing problem everywhere. 

While Alabama has seen a net population gain in recent years, there are still a lot of people moving out of the state, especially in the more rural areas. These areas have long been plagued by high poverty rates due to a lack of good-paying jobs and development. Many people in these areas still rely on agriculture or something tied to it, and small farmers are hurting all across the country.

Mississippi has seen some of the lowest population numbers among Southern states since the end of Covid, and it isn’t hard to guess why. The state has a ton of natural beauty, good food, and great culture, but it also has some of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. The only places that in Mississippi that do seem to be adding a bunch of people to their areas are along the Gulf Coast. 

Kentucky is in a weird dilemma. Like some of its neighbors in Appalachia, it’s suffered from a loss of coal mining jobs, but it’s also decided to keep the minimum wage very low. The only silver lining here is that the state has promised to bring in a lot of new tech and environmental jobs in the near future, and it has so far followed through on that promise. 

Like a lot of other places, Iowa has seen the cost of living rise pretty drastically in recent years. For many, this has been too much. There isn’t a whole lot to do in Iowa, according to those who are choosing to move out of the state. On the bright side, the state’s economy is doing really well, but that’s part of the reason that property prices and other things are rising. 

This one really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Alaska is one of the most pristine and beautiful places in the world, but it’s also very tough to live in. The winters are harsh, and there are few jobs. A lot of people who work in tourism in Alaska are just seasonal workers who come in for a couple of months to make some money and then leave for home. 

Vermont hasn’t suffered nearly as much as a lot of its neighbors when it comes to the number of people leaving the state. However, that’s not to say it doesn’t have some problems. Rents and home prices are pretty high in the state, and like a lot of other places, there just aren’t enough good-paying jobs to keep a lot of people content in Vermont. So, many choose to leave.