Moving Trucks are Headed To …

Sometimes the unscientific surveys provide the most interesting results. Why? Because you know not to fully accept what you find, but in more cases than not you also realize the conclusions are indicative of a bigger pattern or trend.

That’s one way to look at the annual migration results from United Van Lines. For 2010, it was based on more than 146,000 household moves between the 48 continental states.

A quick look at some of the findings:

  • Michigan was dethroned as the "outbound" (more than 55% of the moves being out of state) victim for the first time in five years by New Jersey. Not to worry, our northern neighbors were second in numbers fleeing for greener pastures.
  • Of the nine in the outbound category, Midwesterners Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania were also included.
  • The five "inbound" winners (at least 55% of the moves coming into the state) were, in order, the District of Columbia, Oregon (a top destination for 23 years of the 34-year report), North Carolina, Idaho and South Carolina.
  • Indiana, you ask? Among the 35 in the "balanced" category. But the 2,474 shipments out of the state compared to 2,076 inbound put it at the bottom of that category — 54.4% outbound.

But hey, we’ve got a lot of things going for us here in the Hoosier state. And we didn’t jack up our income taxes by 67% this week like our friends to the west. Just one of the many jokes is that action by the legislature after a contentious battle had to be "Ill nois(e)" to economic development officials and many others.

And it just might be enough to move to Illinois to the bottom of the moving list in 2011.