Most of us would agree that New Jersey is the ideal place to live and raise a family but according to the statistics, more people left the Garden State in 2020 then moved into it.
For the third consecutive year in a row, New Jersey topped the list of Most Moved from States in 2020.
According to the United Van Lines’ National Migration Study, 70% of moves in New Jersey were outbound – in fact, we were the state with the highest percent of outbound moves in the country.
“This year’s survey results indicated 40% of Americans who moved did so for a new job or job transfer (down from prior years), and more than one in four (27%) moved to be closer to family (which is significantly up over prior years),” said the study authors.
The COVID-19 definitely impacted Americans’ decisions to move.
“For customers who cited COVID-19 as an influence on their move in 2020, the top reasons associated with COVID-19 were concerns for personal and family health and wellbeing (60%); desires to be closer to family (59%); 57% moved due to changes in employment status or work arrangement (including the ability to work remotely); and 53% desired a lifestyle change or improvement of quality of life.”
The top outbound states for 2020 were:
- New Jersey
- New York
- Illinois
- Connecticut
- California
- Kansas
- North Dakota
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- Maryland
The top inbound states (with 250 moves or more) of 2020 were:
- Idaho
- South Carolina
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Arizona
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Florida
- Arkansas
“United Van Lines’ data makes it clear that migration to western and southern states, a prevalent pattern for the past several years, persisted in 2020,” said Michael A. Stoll, economist and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. “However, we’re seeing that the COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt accelerated broader moving trends, including retirement driving top inbound regions as the Baby Boomer generation continues to reach that next phase of life.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, the country definitely saw a migration away from major cities including New York City and Newark.
Would you consider leaving NJ or are you here to stay? Would you pack it in and head to Idaho? Let us know!