Conn. 2nd highest in people moving to state
Connecticut had the second-biggest jump on U-Haul’s annual ranking of one-way moves between states, based on the destinations of its customers in 2021.
Only New Mexico leapfrogged more states on the U-Haul study — 29 in all — than Connecticut, which ranked 18th nationally on the list after placing 43rd in 2020.
COVID-19 concerns prompted thousands of New York City residents to purchase or rent homes in the suburbs. However, New Jersey did not see as big a gain on the U-Haul report, rising a dozen rungs to 36th.
According to U-Haul, the study examined the net gain of one-way trucks entering a state compared to leaving that state in 2021.
The U-Haul report and a similar study by United Van Lines include only a percentage of movers, but provide one snapshot of how states are faring in attracting new residents. Connecticut has bounced up and down the U-Haul study over the years, ranking as high as eighth in the 2017 installment.
Gov. Ned Lamont has credited the pandemic migration from New York with helping Connecticut achieve budget surpluses the past two years, as the state chips away at one of the highest debt loads in the nation.
Coming off the pandemic year boom, 1,300 more homes were sold in Connecticut in 2021 for a total of 55,800, according to preliminary sales data from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties based on data from SmartMLS and other multiple listing services.
Property conveyance taxes paid to the state Department of Revenue Services more than doubled to $385 million in the 2021 fiscal year that encompassed the first 12 months of the pandemic, funneling an extra $208 million into the state budget compared to the prior year.
Texas claimed the top spot in the U-Haul 2021 study, followed by Florida and Tennessee. Maine was the top Northeast destination among U-Haul customers, ranking eighth, with Vermont 12th.
New York dropped three slots to 45th, with Massachusetts and California retaining their respective prior-year rankings of 47th and 50th.