Outbound moves: 55%
Montana’s friendly people and impressive landscapes are attracting A-listers and wealthy out-of-staters to shack up close to the mountains — but only for a holiday. The State’s once low cost of living has steadily gone up. With housing difficult to find, there are few work options outside of low-paying seasonal jobs in tourism and the oil industry.
Montana also is far from America’s major cities and populations. The primary reason people moved away was to be closer to family. An additional problem Montana has is its shortage of good health care, with just 2.3 doctors per 1,000 residents.
California
Outbound moves: 54.4%
California's beachy, urban, outdoorsy lifestyles attract many professionals who are ready to work hard. But the State's exorbitant housing prices and high living costs often mean they leave to settle somewhere else. The main reasons people move away include jobs, followed by retirement.
"Unlike a few decades ago, residents are leaving California instead of choosing to stay until things get better," Michael Stoll, public policy economist at the University of California, told United Van Lines.
Michigan
Outbound moves: 55%
Despite this State's glorious parks and miles of coastline to explore, even nature lovers are choosing to settle somewhere other than Michigan. While the State does offer employment in computers, there are even more lower-paying jobs— such as in food preparation, paying much less, reports Michigan-based Bridge Magazine.
Michigan ranks as the 7th State for "brain drain," meaning that the younger generation who may be more educated are fleeing for better opportunities elsewhere. About half the people who moved out last year said that the primary reason was work.
Iowa
Outbound moves: 55.5%
Iowa sunsets over the golden cornfields are the essence of poetry, even with its cities and job market growing — nearly 75% of those moving away are looking for better job prospects. Even in Iowa, the in-demand tech jobs pay less than in neighboring states, and the cost of living in Iowa's largest cities has become too expensive.
Aside from the pay, the younger residents dislike the weather extremes, poorly funded public schools, crumbling infrastructure — and they say that "Iowa can be boring." The largest group by far that chooses to leave the Hawkeye State are young people ages 18 to 34.
Massachusetts
Outbound moves: 55.7%
The historic and beautiful Massachusetts is a great place to get an education, see a doctor, and enjoy a wicked cup of coffee. (Make that Chafee.) Sadly, the rising cost of living makes it difficult for residents here to pay back their student loans and live a good life. People of all ages are moving out, with the 55-and-over crowd leading the pack.
More than 50% of those who head for the highway say that jobs are their No. 1 reason for leaving. Massachusetts' brutal wintertimes, eye-popping housing costs, and terrible traffic congestion — Boston's is the worst, according to one study — all make good reasoning, not to settle in Massachusetts.