Adventures in Moving

Illinois has the second greatest outmigration among the states:

Illinois’ net loss of 95,000 residents is so large that it defies belief, and speaks to the fact that Illinois has the worst job-creation rate in the Midwest in 2014, with food-stamp enrollment also hitting new record highs. Although Illinois has been a net loser of residents as far back as such data are recorded, never has the state lost so many people in one year.

Only New York lost more people to net migration, as the two states once again battled it out to be the nation’s largest exporter of talent. Meanwhile, states such as Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado and the Carolinas happily herded more of the nation’s talent pool across their borders.

Two of nation’s three largest moving companies, United Van Lines and Atlas Van Lines, corroborated the census data. Both moving companies show the rate of outbound traffic from Illinois spiked to new highs in 2014. Atlas and United respectively showed that Illinois ranked second and third-highest for the outbound rate nationally, with New York coming in last in for both moving companies.

The stunning data underscore an important point as power shifts to Governor-elect Bruce Rauner: Illinois cannot raise taxes on a population that is shrinking due to massive numbers of people leaving. We know the number one reason Illinoisans leave is for better job and business opportunities, according to Gallup.

And yet our state legislature remains committed to the ideas that higher tax and a higher cost of doing business in Illinois will solve Illinois’s problems.

4 comments… add one
  • ... Link

    Not just higher taxes on fewer people, but the people left are getting poorer anyway, based on food stamp usage.

  • PD Shaw Link

    So does this suggest that Walker runs for President using Illinois as his punching bag . . . again? Are Illinois woes an unspoken attack on the Democratic Parties top leaders, by which I mean Obama, Hillary and Rahm? (Pause for Dave’s spit-take at that last one) But Illinois isn’t doing too bad in the Midwest region(s): “Wisconsin is #1 in the Midwest for personal income growth over the year [tweated Scott Walker on July 30, 2014]. . . . . Wisconsin’s 3.33 percent income growth led the way, topping Ohio (3.12 percent) and Illinois (3.08 percent.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Personal income picks up real estate and investment income)

  • You can commute from Racine to Chicago, particularly the northern burbs. There’s a commuter train and I’ve known people who did that.

  • Andy Link

    My home state of Colorado has been attracting people for a while now. Based on what my family (who still live there) say, the new arrivals enjoy the relatively low taxes yet expect California’s policies. I have to admit, I hardly recognize Denver anymore, but maybe that’s because I have a lot more opportunity to look around thanks to the stop-n-go traffic.

Leave a Comment