People Are Leaving Louisiana in Droves

BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Across the country, hundreds of thousands of companies have established remote work policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. No longer bound to an office, millions of Americans are now free to relocate without having to consider proximity to their employer – and some clear trends are emerging.

A recent study from moving services company United Van Lines showed that in some parts of the country, far more people are leaving than are moving in.

According to the United Van Lines study, there were 2,542 moves to or from Louisiana in 2021. Of those moves, 57% were outbound – the eighth highest share among states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii..

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Adjusting for total households in the state, as reported by U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, there were 80.5 outbound moves from Louisiana for every 100,000 households in the state in 2021.

All moving data is from the Annual 2021 United Van Lines National Movers Study. All data in this story is limited to moves conducted by United Van Lines. Due to rounding, shipment totals may not add up to 100%.

Rank State Outbound shipments as a share of all moves; 2021 (%) Inbound shipments as a share of all moves; 2021 (%) Total moves to or from state; 2021
1 New Jersey 71 30 5,348
2 Illinois 67 33 9,199
3 New York 63 37 9,050
4 Connecticut 60 40 2,887
5 California 59 41 26,711
6 Michigan 58 42 4,730
7 Massachusetts 58 42 5,183
8 Louisiana 57 44 2,542
9 Ohio 56 44 6,391
10 Nebraska 56 44 1,712
11 Kansas 56 45 2,741
12 Minnesota 54 46 3,317
13 Pennsylvania 53 47 6,424
14 North Dakota 53 48 600
15 Mississippi 52 48 1,411
16 Wisconsin 52 48 3,206
17 Missouri 52 48 4,394
18 Maryland 52 48 4,675
19 Iowa 51 50 1,551
20 Nevada 51 49 3,168
21 Virginia 51 49 11,635
22 Indiana 50 50 2,990
23 Kentucky 50 50 2,647
24 Wyoming 50 50 626
25 Colorado 50 50 9,337
26 Oklahoma 49 51 2,294
27 Montana 49 51 1,494
28 Washington 49 52 11,764
29 Arkansas 47 53 1,537
30 Georgia 47 54 8,861
31 New Hampshire 46 54 1,047
32 Texas 46 54 22,715
33 Arizona 46 54 7,540
34 Utah 45 55 2,516
35 New Mexico 44 56 2,276
36 Maine 42 58 1,376
37 Delaware 41 59 718
38 Rhode Island 41 59 892
39 North Carolina 41 59 10,318
40 Oregon 40 61 3,370
41 Idaho 40 60 1,623
42 West Virginia 38 63 451
43 Alabama 38 62 2,726
44 Tennessee 38 62 6,004
45 Florida 38 62 21,179
46 South Carolina 37 63 5,508
47 South Dakota 31 69 446
48 Vermont 26 74 413

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