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.
Montana
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.
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.
Ohio
Outbound moves: 56.5%
Ohio's polite Midwestern manner is as inviting as its amusement parks, Lake Erie islands, and simple yet unique cuisine. While plenty of people are brought here from other states by the promise of a low cost of living and welcoming communities, more of its own people are heading out.
This Rust Belt state has been haunted by relatively high unemployment and slow job growth. And residents complain about the sad, harsh winters and the inequality when it comes to good health care. More than 60% of Ohioans who move away from State that they leave for jobs elsewhere, the rest hit the road for better retirement destinations.
Kansas
Outbound moves: 58.7%
Kansas may be known as the windy city, as its smack in the middle of Tornado Alley. But does that mean the residents are also making a speedy exit? Despite the Sunflower State's affordability, a cozy lifestyle, and low-level of unemployment over 64% of people who move out are leaving for better job opportunities elsewhere.
The lack of earnings makes for a good enough reason for experienced, educated workers to leave, and the State's windy weather with-a-chance-of-tornadoes forecast doesn't help either.