The top 5 states Americans fled in droves in 2024 and why theyre leaving

Uprooting your life to move to another state is a major undertaking—but, in 2024, five states saw an influx of residents doing just that.The states with the highest number of outbound moves this year were Louisiana, California, Illinois, South Dakota, and New York, according to Atlas Van Lines.Why the mass exodus?In Louisiana, the No.1 reason for residents leaving was lack of jobs and job opportunities, according to the Shreveport Times.In November, the unemployment rate in Louisiana stood at 4.3%, rising by 0.3 percentage points compared with the same time last year.

This was just above the national rate of 4.2%.Additionally, a study conducted by the Life Extension Foundation ranked Louisiana as the fourth-worst state in the US for life expectancy—which could be another reason people bolted from the state.The cost of living is another major factor driving relocations, particularly from California and New York.The Golden State ranked second highest for the cost of living in the US, while the Empire State came in fifth, according to a recent study.The high cost of housing in Los Angeles is out of reach for many people, according to Jameson Tyler Drew, president of Anubis Properties.Property taxes can push into the five figures for new homebuyers there, he says.“Compared to other metro areas, L.A.is one of the most expensive places to live and raise a family,” he adds.“Full-time day care can cost the same as a mortgage payment per child in the city of L.A., so many families seek their futures elsewhere.”Taxes were another driving factor behind people relocating out of state.

High taxes are consistently the No.1 reason people consider leaving Illinois, according to Illinois Policy.The state also ranks as the least tax-friendly in the country, with state and local taxes representing about 13% of a median family’s income, according to a study by MoneyGeek.“Illinois is a mess—the problem is overspending that put the state in such a hol...