Top Ten US States For Inbound And Outbound Population Migration In 2016

From Tax Foundation, "Where Did Americans Move in 2016?" by Nicole Kaeding:

The map below shows the top inbound and outbound states for 2016.

Source: Tax Foundation

South Dakota, Vermont, and Oregon were the states with the highest percentage of inbound moves. New Jersey, Illinois, and New York had the highest percentage of outbound moves. South Dakota had a 68 percent inbound rate, while New Jersey had a 63 percent outbound rate.

From the original study, "2016 United Movers Study: South Dakota Overtakes Oregon as the Nation’s 'Top Moving Destination' " by United Van Lines:

United has tracked migration patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2016, the study is based on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. This study ranks states based off the inbound and outbound percentages of total moves in each state. United classifies states as "high inbound" if 55 percent or more of the moves are going into a state, "high outbound" if 55 percent or more moves were coming out of a state or “balanced” if the difference between inbound and outbound is negligible.

Moving In: The top inbound states of 2016 were:

1. South Dakota
   
2. Vermont
   
3. Oregon
   
4. Idaho
   
5. South Carolina
   
6. Washington
   
7. District of Columbia
   
8. North Carolina
   
9. Nevada
   
10. Arizona

South Dakota is the most popular moving destination of 2016 with nearly 68 percent of moves to and from the state being inbound. The state has continued to climb the ranks, increasing inbound migration by 23 percent over the past five years. New to the 2016 top inbound list are South Dakota at No. 1 and Arizona at No. 10 with 68 and 57 percent inbound moves, respectively.

Moving Out: The top outbound states for 2016 were:

1. New Jersey
   
2. Illinois
   
3. New York
   
4. Connecticut
   
5. Kansas
   
6. Kentucky
   
7. West Virginia
   
8. Ohio
   
9. Utah
   
10. Pennsylvania

In addition to the Northeast, Illinois (63 percent) moved up one spot on the outbound list, to no. 2, ranking in the top five for the last eight years. New additions to the 2016 top outbound list include Kentucky (58 percent), Utah (56 percent) and Pennsylvania (56 percent).

Balanced Several states gained approximately the same number of residents as those that left. This list of “balanced” states includes California, New Mexico and Delaware. Delaware appeared on the balanced list for the second consecutive year.