The Tri-States Aren’t Ranked Favorably in New Moving Study

Less than a month ago, WalletHub took a look at all fifty states and ranked them from best-to-worst in effort to determine the "best states to live in." Wisconsin made it into the top 10, while Illinois and Iowa ranked #15 and #16, respectively.

So, if that's the case, why aren't more people moving to those states?

The website Move Buddha just released their "2022 Moving Trends Report," which takes a look at where people are moving to and from. While Iowa and Wisconsin didn't crack neither the top ten for "most popular states (to move to)" nor "least popular states (to move to)" lists, Illinois ranks relatively high on the one you don't want any part of.

Indeed, Illinois placed third on the list of least popular states to move to in 2022. Digging in, the data shows that many people from Chicago (and even suburban Downers Grove) bolted the Windy City in favor of places like Ocala, FL, Los Angeles, New York, and Austin to name a few.

Iowa and Wisconsin actually ranked very similarly at #19 and #20, respectively (for least popular states to move to). Not necessarily encouraging, but not as lowly as Illinois at least.

You would assume that southern areas with warmer climates would be among the more popular destinations, but that's not necessarily the case. Take a look at the top ten most popular states people are moving to:

1. Hawaii
2. Alaska
3. Montana
4. South Carolina
5. Maine
6. North Carolina
7. Florida
8. Tennessee
9. Wyoming
10. Vermont

Hawaii being #1 on the list isn't terribly surprising. The fact that Montana and Wyoming made it are eyebrow-raisers to me. Both states are ones I'd like to visit, but I'm not sure setting up camp there is ideal, at least for me, personally. Moreover, New Jersey, California, and Illinois make up the top three least popular states to move to.

The study showed that a lot of Californians are trading the Golden State for the Big Apple in making their way to New York:

As we embrace the next normal, more remote workers and retirees are choosing their next destination based on lifestyle, taxes, and cost of living, not proximity to a subway.

 

View the full 2022 Moving Trends Report from MoveBuddha here!