Thanks largely to golf and a thriving tourism industry, the Carolinas and other Southern states emerged as top migration destinations in 2007, according to an annual study conducted by United Van Lines, the nation’s largest mover of household goods.
Nearly two-thirds of all moves, 61.6%, were to North Carolina, making the Tar Heel State the year’s top migration destination. South Carolina was another top residential moving destination for 2007, nabbing 57.8% of all household movers.
Other states receiving the most inbound residents were:
- Nevada, 59.4%.
- Washington, D.C., 58.5%.
- Oregon, 58.4%.
- Alabama, 57.9%.
Alabama had its fifth year as a top inbound location, while South Carolina continued a 14-year tradition of high numbers of inbound residents. Other Southern states that proved to be high inbound destinations were West Virginia with 55.7% and Tennessee with 55.1%.
United Van Lines classifies a high inbound state as one that receives 55% or more household moves.
Pat Mason, director of the Center for Carolina Living, a marketing and research firm that provides information on the Carolinas to tourists or would-be residents, predicted that South Carolina will have 150,000 new residents this year and North Carolina will have twice that many.
Charleston emerged as the No. 1 most-preferred destination for tourists, according to Mason’s Carolina Lifestyle Survey. Of 109 South Carolina cities that snapped up new residents, Myrtle Beach was the No. 1 city families moved to after taking the survey; Columbia ranked at No. 4; Summerville ranked at No. 5; Charleston ranked at No. 8 and Mount Pleasant came in at No. 9.
“There’s no way the census can keep up with us. We’re a growth state,” Mason said.
Mason’s firm surveys people who are interested in moving to the state and also tracks building permits and housing starts. The firm uses the National Change of Address Audit to follow up on its Carolina Lifestyle surveys and determine how many of those surveyed actually moved to the state.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics, which compare the number of tax returns filed each year, South Carolina gained 59,332 residents between 2006 and 2007, a figure Mason said is an underestimate.
“I think they would admit that number is considered conservative and probably very low,” Mason said. “They’ve got lag factors…and census counts in South Carolina are low. We don’t get the same number of people who complete the census forms as other states. Somewhere in between their number and my number is a number that is real.”
“My number might be high or low. But the real thing we need to know as planners and as people who want to improve the quality of life is that the state is continuing to grow and the numbers will continue to go up for the next 25 years.”
Mason said the popularity of the Carolinas as an in-migration state is directly connected to the tourism industry.
“It starts with a visit,” Mason said. “We wouldn’t have in-migration if we didn’t have millions of people coming down here to play golf. The tourism industry is robust in South Carolina and is only going to get better. The wisdom of the Legislature this year allocated $31 million for tourism.”
North Carolina tops the in-migration list, Mason said, because it is larger than South Carolina and has strong business centers such as Charlotte and the Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh area.
At No. 2, Nevada has become an in-migration destination because of the Las Vegas area.
“It’s a hot destination and the land values and home values are relatively low compared to California,” Mason said.
Washington, D.C., at No.3, has government jobs and a number of colleges and universities to lure people, while the fourth most popular in-migration destination, Oregon, is also a California exodus state.
“People escaping California have had it up to their eyeballs with sprawl and are going to Oregon so they can see the stars at night,” Mason said.
At No. 5, Alabama has learned some lessons from the Carolinas and, in recent years, has begun attracting golfers and automobile manufacturers, including Mercedes and Hyundai.
As the South and other desirable areas fill up with new residents, other states have the distinction of losing a large number of residents each year.
States that had 55% or more moves out are classified as high outbound states by the migration study. This year, the following states experienced the most moves out:
- Michigan, 67.8%.
- North Dakota, 67.2%.
- New Jersey, 61.0%.
- New York, 59.4%.
- Illinois, 57.6%.
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