The prevailing conventional wisdom among those in the state is that New Jersey is losing residents faster than it can keep them.But, according to the 2016 Atlas Van Lines Migration Patterns study, the outbound and incoming migration in the state was balanced last year. In 2015, however, more people had moved out of the Garden State than the inverse.
A total of 11 U.S. states, along with the nation’s capital, experienced a shift in migration status in 2016. The company has conducted the study since 1993 to track the nation’s interstate moving patterns year to year, as reflected in moves handled by Atlas.
The study also found that 26 states registered as balanced, 15 as outbound and nine as inbound, in addition to Washington, D.C. It also found that moving, in general, was down from 2015.
“The moving industry as a whole has contracted annually over the last five years, but we have been fortunate to see a consistent increase in moves during that time until this year,” said Jack Griffin, vice chairman and CEO of Atlas World Group. “We are cautiously optimistic that we will see an uptick in 2017 for all types of moves, but we are aware of the economic headwinds that lie ahead of us.”
The 10 states with the highest percentage of inbound moves and outbound moves are included in order below. This is the first year Idaho has been the study’s inbound leader, while Wyoming topped the outbound list back in 2012, as well.
Inbound
- Idaho, 63 percent;
- Oregon, 62 percent;
- North Carolina, 61 percent;
- Tennessee, 60 percent;
- Alaska, 59 percent;
- Washington, 58 percent;
- Michigan, 57.2 percent;
- Washington, D.C., 57.1 percent;
- Florida, 56 percent;
- New Hampshire, 55.1 percent.
Outbound
- Wyoming, 63 percent;
- Nebraska, 61 percent;
- Illinois, 60 percent;
- Delaware, 59.5 percent;
- Louisiana, 59 percent;
- Connecticut, 58.9 percent;
- New York, 58.7 percent;
- West Virginia, 58.6 percent;
- Indiana, 58 percent;
- South Dakota, 57.6 percent.
To view the full results of the 2016 migration patterns, along with a nationwide map and annual histories for each state, visit the Atlas Van Lines website.
