Leaving New York and New Jersey

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - Do you ever dream of just packing up and leaving the tristate area? You're not alone. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are among the top states people move away from.

The data is according to a 2016 United Van Lines national movers study. The top outbound states were New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut.

"For 40 years, United Van Lines has been tracking which states people are moving to and from. We also survey our customers to understand why they are moving from state-to-state," said Melissa Sullivan, director of marketing communications at United Van Lines. "As the nation's largest household goods mover, the data we collect is reflective of national migration trends."

Erik Engquist is the assistant managing editor at Crain's New York Business.   He says people are still moving into New York City, but upstate is a different story. In the past, good industrial jobs kept people in New York, but those jobs are gone. He also says high taxes in New York and New Jersey prompt some residents to leave.

Retirees are continuing to move to the Mountain and Pacific West, according to the survey. The Western U.S. is represented on the high-inbound list by Oregon (67 percent), Idaho (65 percent), Washington (58 percent), Nevada (58 percent) and Arizona (57 percent). Of moves to Oregon, the highest ranking Western state, a new job or company transfer (53 percent) and retirement (19 percent) led the reasons for most inbound moves.

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.

This is the second year in a row the tristate area topped the mass exodus list and it is expected to be there again next year.