Top Destination States For People Leaving New Jersey

The state of New Jersey is famous for its beaches and iconic Shore Towns, the farms growing Blueberries and Cranberries, along with historic towns such as Cape May, Swedesboro, and South Orange.  But The Garden State has become infamous in recent years for people moving out of the state.

According to the United Van Lines National Movers Survey, New Jersey has been in the top ten for state residents moving to another state.  After ranking eighth highest rate of people moving out of New Jersey in 2022, the number of former residents in New Jersey rose.  In 2023, New Jersey was the number one in the United States for the most people moving out of state.

The reasons why people are moving out of New Jersey include:

*27 percent of former New Jersey residents are moving to spend their retirement years in another state
*21.4% of people moving out of New Jersey surveyed say they want to live closer to family members
*16.4% of former New Jersey residents say they are moving to a state where they have a new or better job waiting for them
*13.6% of the New Jersey exodus say they want a better quality lifestyle and found what they are looking for in another state

So the next question is where are these people moving to when they leave New Jersey?  The website Wall St 24/7 gathered data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to find out where the former New Jersey Residents are moving to in the United States.

Here are the top ten states that residents who used to live in New Jersey moved to since 2022:

10. South Carolina
-A total of 7,926 people who moved out of New Jersey went to South Carolina. That number accounts for 2.97% of former New Jersey residents who moved out of the state and now those people can enjoy warmer weather throughout the year. South Carolina has some nice beaches and golf courses.

9. Connecticut
-8,087 former New Jersey residents have moved to Connecticut, which accounts for 3.03% of people moving out of New Jersey. There are many manufacturing and tech jobs in Connecticut along with numerous Fortune 500 Companies, so it is no surprise people would be moving there for work.

8. Georgia
-8,295 people moved out of New Jersey and went "down to Georgia", that is 3.11% of former New Jersey residents who left The Garden State. Aside from warmer weather, Georgia is home to numerous major corporations and Atlanta International Airport has the highest volume of travelers in the United States.

7. North Carolina
-A total of 10,750 people moved from New Jersey to North Carolina, which accounts for 4.02% of former New Jersey residents. In 2022, North Carolina saw the fourth most people moving into their state in the USA and I hope all of those people enjoy picturesque mountain ranges like the Smokey Mountains.

6. Virginia
-11,155 outbound movers from New Jersey have landed in Virginia, which is 4.18% of people who left New Jersey. Within a day's drive, Virginia residents can travel from the Appalachian Mountains to the beach or they can visit Washington, DC, and Baltimore.

5. Texas
-The 12,949 former New Jersey residents joined a massive wave of people moving to Texas. Even though it's only 4.85% of outbound movers from New Jersey, Texas had the second most Americans move to their state in 2022.

4. California
-13,162 people moved out of New Jersey and now live in California, accounting for 4.93% of former New Jersey residents. There are numerous reasons for people to move to California, such as work in Silicon Valley, retirement living in San Diego, or their dreams leading them to Los Angeles, or Military assignment to one of the 32 Bases in the state.

3. New York
-A total of 38,771 people left New Jersey for the northern neighboring state of New York. Accounting for 14.52% of outbound New Jersey movers, these new residents to New York are usually coming to The Empire State for new jobs with numerous Fortune 500 Companies located there.

2. Pennsylvania
-40,517 people have moved out of New Jersey and now live in Pennsylvania, that is 15.17% of former New Jersey residents who moved to The Keystone State. The cost of living is lower in Pennsylvania than in most of the Northeastern United States, which means former New Jersey residents could have a better quality of life.

1. Florida
-It's not surprising that 47,000 of former New Jersey residents moved to Florida, accounting for 17.60% of outbound movers from New Jersey.  The Sunshine State was number one in the United States for Most Americans moving to that state in 2022.