One thing I knew for sure is that Illinois would not be on this list. Every week or so it seems to be on the news about how many people are leaving Illinois (and rightly so, given how badly our government mismanages its finances).
Maybe if all Illinois public employees decided to retire at one time. Each time anything like this is reported in the news, everyone becomes Chicken Little. The unfunded liabilities are spread out over 40-50 years and thousands will never live long enough to collect more than they put in (law of averages). Another example is the USPS and all the reports that they are billions in the hole due to the infamous "unfunded liabilities". More smoke and mirrors. Congress mandated they set aside 75 years worth of premiums for retiree's health care insurance and do it in 10 years. This is for future retirees, many who haven't even been born. They were unable to pay after about 5 or 6 years but it still shows up on the accounting ledger as an expense. They don't show the $42 billion already on the books that they did pay.
1/3 of all state revenues go to pay for pensions and health care for retired state employees. That's not normal. Think about how much of your taxes are sent from you to Springfield to retirees in Florida and Arizona, propping up those states' economies. I mean, as a Floridian, I'd love for you to keep subsidizing my low taxes. But you guys might want to address that soon.
Florida had become a pretty consistently Republican state--Republicans always win, even if it is only by a small margin. There still hasn't been the seismic demographic shift to turn Florida blue that people have been expecting for decades. Nevada and Georgia are also swing states now.
It's been well documented that "social experiments" have been tried where they move to a red state for the election, vote, and then move. It happened in Colorado, Virginia, and Texas in the last 10 years.
Well-documented? Not enough for you to link to any sources, apparently. Seems like nonsense conservative propaganda to me. Not many people have the resources to move states every few years, and those that do likely move for work, not to vote in specific elections.
Only 6 of these states are red. And given that red states generally have lower populations, it's easier for their numbers to jump as a percentage. For example, Calfornia's 149% increase means that 15 million people have moved there since 1960. Alaska's 266% increase means that 456,000 people have moved there. Arizona's 452% increase means that about 5.6 million people moved there.
I knew someone would make this argument... no. You don't get to say "SEE SEE RED STATES BETTER" and then ignore Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi etc. Red states that are terribly governed, are net recipients of federal funding, are horrifically unequal, and have awful outcomes in health and education.
My best guess would be that Idaho has both a low population (so it's easier for the percentage change to be significant) and the beautiful nature is attracting a lot of millennials. People I know have generally wanted to move to Portland, Denver, Nashville, or Austin, which are hip cities in climates that accommodate outdoor adventures. Those cities (based on anecdotal evidence from people I know who've considered moving there) seem to be hitting the point of capacity for young people moving in, so they're getting more expensive. Boise is growing fast and is still probably pretty cheap, so it is a logical next choice on that list. And of course, because this is America, billionaires are buying up a lot of Idaho's pristine land for themselves. So it seems lots of people have their eyes on Idaho now.
Fun fact: In 1960, the population of California and New York was the same (17 mil). Over these 60 years, the population of New York barely changed (19 mil) whereas California rocketed to 40 million.
I know when I was growing up I heard that Northern Virginia was the fastest growing area in the country many times. But the rest of the state aside from Virginia Beach is pretty stagnant.
huh. would have never guessed Alaska. I was trying to think of the most populous states and where those people might move to. That's the only reason I got Georgia.