These are the states that Minnesotans are fleeing to

In December, I noted that:

New Census Bureau data show that…From mid-2021 to mid-2022, 19,400 Minnesota residents left for other states, by far the highest number in at least three decades.

…until 2001 Minnesota received more residents from other states each year than it lost to them. Since then, in all except two years, 2017 and 2018, our state has seen more residents leave than have chosen to come here from elsewhere in the United States. The loss of residents seen in 2021 and 2022 is not a new phenomenon, but the pace of exit is quickening: Minnesotans are fleeing the state in larger numbers.

As Figure 1 shows, Minnesota’s net loss of domestic migrants in 2021-2022 was the tenth largest in the United States.

Figure 1: Net domestic migration, 2022

Source: Census Bureau

The Census Bureau numbers don’t tell us where these people went. For that we have to turn to the Internal Revenue Service. Figure 2 shows that from 2011-2012 to 2019-2020, Minnesota lost, on net, 24,597 residents. Florida was the top destination for fleeing Minnesotans over this period with a net inflow from our state totaling 23,166. Minnesota also lost residents, on net, to Arizona, Texas, Washington, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Idaho, Alabama, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and New Hampshire. Minnesota gained most residents, on net, from Illinois.

Figure 2: Net domestic migration in and out of Minnesota, 2011-2012 to 2019-2020

Source: Internal Revenue Service

Figure 3 shows the top sources of domestic migrants into Minnesota from Figure 2 and the top ten destinations for those fleeing the state. It indicates, among other things, that people will move further to get away from Minnesota than they will move to get into it, and I say that as someone who moved 4,000 miles to live here.

Figure 3: Top 10 sources of and destinations for domestic migrants into and out of Minnesota, 2011-2012 to 2019-2020

Source: Internal Revenue Service and Center of the American Experiment

It is common for people to respond to critical commentary about Minnesota by sneering at other states, like Arkansas, for example, or even Florida. The question these people can never answer is why, if these states are so much worse than Minnesota, are Minnesotans, on net, moving to them?