(The Lion) — Expensive, highly regulated deep blue states are continuing to lose residents who are resettling in red states, which are more affordable.

California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois are the states with the highest migratory outflow, according to data provided by the moving company U-Haul, which specializes in moving and storage rentals.

In each of the states losing population to domestic migration, Democrats control both the executive branch and the legislature, except in Pennsylvania, where the legislative branch is split after Republicans captured the state Senate in June 2024. Democrats in Pennsylvania still control the state House and the governor’s office.

The states enjoying the biggest number of incomers are South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, said U-Haul.

The top states are all south of the Mason-Dixon line. It’s the first time that South Carolina has topped the list as the leader for interstate migration.

Except for North Carolina, Republicans control the governor’s office and the legislature in each of the top states for new residents. In North Carolina, the GOP controls the Legislature, while a Democrat occupies the executive mansion.

In its analysis of outbound interstate migration, the moving company Allied Van Lines cited high taxes, high cost of living and the loss of major employers to other states as the prime reason people are fleeing the Democrat-controlled states.

“The mass exodus from California points back to numerous factors, ranging from top employers relocating due to high taxes and strict regulations to the soaring cost of living throughout the state,” said Allied.

But the factors were more varied and more serious in Chicago, said the moving company, which gently laid the problem at the feet of the Democrat machine that controls the Windy City and the rest of the state.

High costs of living and tax rates, and the loss of major employers such as Caterpillar and Boeing, have driven people out of the state, said Allied.

“In addition, civic concerns and worry about crime rates have made Chicago less appealing,” the company added.

Other notable Democrat-controlled states losing population are Colorado and Washington state.

The unemployment numbers highlight part of the problem for the affected states.

California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York rank in the top six among states and territories for the most unemployment claims filed compared to the labor force, said WalletHub, a consumer credit company. Illinois, the other top population loser, ranks 14th in the highest number of unemployment claims.

If Washington, D.C. hadn’t claimed the top spot in unemployment, with a 218% increase in claims filed this week versus the same time last year – thanks to the massive numbers of federal employees fired by President Donald Trump – each of the states would rank one spot higher.

The trends noticed by the moving companies also tallied well with data released by the Census Bureau in December.

Texas (+85,267), North Carolina (+82,288) and South Carolina (+68,043) saw the largest gains from domestic migration, while California (-239,575), New York ( -120,917) and Illinois (-56,235) experienced the largest net domestic migration losses between 2023 and 2024, said the Census Bureau.

Powered by net positive migration, the South is now the most populous region in the U.S. with nearly 132.7 million residents, or a gain of 1.8 million people, the federal data shows.

“The South was the only region with positive net domestic migration, where the number of people entering the region exceeded those leaving,” said the Bureau’s analysis. “Natural increase also contributed 218,567 to the growing region.”

The Census Bureau said California, New York and New Jersey still managed to have net population growth, but that was primarily driven by “international migration,” which includes the influx of illegal immigrants.

One bright spot in the Census data was that births outpaced deaths, a natural increase which has rebounded significantly since 2021 when it posted a historically low increase of just 146,000 people.

“Natural increase also contributed to the population growth, as births outnumbered deaths by nearly 519,000 between 2023 and 2024,” said the analysis.

However, the number of births versus deaths still lags below numbers for previous decades, the Bureau cautioned.

The non-partisan Tax Foundation said that government policies matter more now when people choose where to live.

The internet has given people with higher incomes and skills the mobility to take advantage of competitive differences in cost of living and taxes, the foundation said. It has allowed states to change policies to attract more citizens, and the results are beginning to show.

“Many states have responded to this highly competitive landscape by reducing tax rates and improving tax structures in an effort to attract and retain individuals and employers,” said the Tax Foundation.

“In recent years, several states that recently had highly uncompetitive tax codes – like Iowa, Louisiana, and Arkansas – have taken significant steps to improve their tax structures and better compete with their lower-tax neighbors. Other states – especially those that experience net outbound migration year after year – should consider following suit or risk falling behind simply by standing still.”