Migration patterns indicate Vermont getting more wealthy and elderly people

Two new reports by moving companies indicate a migration trend of wealthier citizens coming into Vermont versus moving out, whereas lower- and middle-class populations are coming and going at about an even pace.

The two moving companies to issue reports on moving patterns in the United States are United Van Lines, a full-service company that targets upper-class populations, and U-Haul, a ‘do-it-yourself’ hauling service popular with the middle and lower class.

According to the U-Haul Growth Index analyzing customer moves during 2022, about 50% of U-Haul movers are coming into Vermont while 49.9% are moving out. Vermont has become the No. 30 growth state, slipping from No. 12 in the 2021 report.

U-Haul’s index shows the net gain of one-way truck rentals going into or out of a city or state each year. The company tracks more than 2 million one-way transactions annually in the U.S. and Canada.

However, the elderly and those making upper-class incomes may be increasing in numbers in the Green Mountain State.

According to the 2022 National Movers Study recently published by United Van Lines, 77% of moves relating to Vermont were inbound.

“The United Van Lines study encompasses data that Americans are now moving from bigger to smaller cities, mostly in the South, some in the West, but even an increase of migration to the Northeast, which has not been typical,” said Michael A. Stoll, economist and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The United Van Lines report indicates that 69% of those moving into the state are over the age of 55 —  35% are over 65. These are upper-class earners: 63% of those moving in using the service make more than $100,000 a year, and 33% make more than $150,000.

Top motivations for moving include 35% wanting to be closer to family (35%), getting a new job/company transfer (33%), and moving for retirement (20%).

Other states that round out the top 5 for United Van Lines include Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Delaware.

For U-Haul, the most popular moving destinations for its truck rental movers tend to be politically red-leaning states.

“Texas paced the nation in growth for the fifth time since 2016. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia round out the top five growth states,” the report by U-Haul states. “California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the third year in a row, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.”

According to U-Haul’s report, they also figure that the differences in migration patterns reported by the two companies likely reflect the different demographics that use them.

“The difference likely reflects the difference between the demographic of how do-it-yourselfers move with U-Haul versus contract movers like United,” the report states. “In the United study, the plurality of movers into Vermont were in the higher income and older categories.”

Also according to U-Haul’s report, Burlington made the nation’s top 25 list of movers heading inbound, despite reports of rising crime in the city over recent years, with 68% heading inbound. Other cities that made notable net gains include Rutland, Williston, Bennington, Berlin, Middlebury, Barre, and Saint Johnsbury.

A December report by MoneyRates.com ranks Vermont as the 16th top destination for retirement. That report places Vermont as 33rd in economy, 4th in safety, 21st for lifestyle and 30th in health care.

However, the Green Mountain State is currently ranked 47th nationally for its economic outlook, according to RichStatesPoorStates.com . That report ranks Vermont 49th in property tax burden and 48th in personal income tax progressivity.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

7 thoughts on “Migration patterns indicate Vermont getting more wealthy and elderly people

  1. So tell me why the “Wealthy” (people with money) moving to Vermont are doing their own hauling with U-Haul? — Seems like someone stupid is on the keyboard, or the commies are lying again.

  2. I suspect this survey was underwritten by the DNC or Open Societies. I also suspect those who moved to Vermont to escape the metro cities will be suffering buyers-regret soon enough. Reality sets in when taxes and utilities outpace income. No one moves here to make money unless you are a woke, hapless grifter. For the wealthy, they don’t care and they are here for other reasons – it’s a great place to hide, right Alec Baldwin, Ezra Miller, John Griffin of CNN? There are mansions built in the hills that are owned by very wealthy people. They only occupy them a few weeks at a time as they have homes all over the world. The money in the hills is not going to stay once the old currency system grinds to a bankrupt halt. California mansions are not selling and the ones in Vermont will be abandoned.

  3. Bogus story that seems repeated yearly. Figures lie – and liar figure:

    1. The U haul stats are NOT good. Just as many leave as come in: “… about 50% of U-Haul movers are coming into Vermont while 49.9% are moving out.”
    2. Another bogus distortion. Of those moving IN, how many are FULL TIME resident taxpayers, versus the covid driven, cacation second home owners. Second home owners are NOT VT residents and they do not pay VT income taxes.

    3. but the BIGGEST LIE….these United Van Lines stats are ballyhooed every year. Lies. It hypes that they have far more coming “in” than leaving. Duhhh. Is Untied Van Lines THE ONLY MOVER IN VT? No. When I moved out I had about SIX national level mover choices. United Vans was not amoung them, as they had sparce capacity for outbound.. I used MAYFLOWER….big offices & storage in Winooski. My sales rep told me they had FAR more LEAVING VT residents, than incoming. I had to wait & plan ahead THREE MONTHS to get a truck and trailer from Mayflower….to leave. Mayflower has to wait to be efficient and have a truck coming IN TO VT for drop off…so as to have an outgoing trip full — OUT of VT. Mayflower did NOT have enough INBOUND Vt trucks coming…so I had to join a list to wait almost THREE MONTHS to get an empty & unloaded truck here, to then make my exit.

    So throiw this annual United Van Lines story out the window, Figures lie. The only way it has any validity is if you canvas and tally data from EVERY SINGLE MOVING FIRM IN VT. My experience with about a the largest mover, MAYFLOWER – was OPPOSITE of what United Van says. Furthermore United Van has NO CLUE if their inbound move is for FULL time residents, or part time ones.BI G difference in tax revunes…because part time/vacation/covid travelers…pay NO VT income taxes….so what united Van says is NOT as “glorious” as it sounds.

  4. This is quite interesting.
    I clicked on NH and see we are losing families, no surprise here.

    It’s clear out there that New England is swirling the drain.
    Housing is very expensive, cost of living and lousy education..
    And this is on top of our weather.. which we all know is hard living..
    You’d have to be rich to move to a cold weather state up here- given that they want to freeze us to death!
    That is hardly rolling out the “Welcome Mat” for regular people wanting to raise families.

    I feel like these answers just raise more questions!

  5. Fascinating. The interactive map is really cool. And it makes it clear that people are leaving the Democrat run states in droves, with a few exceptions such as VT. Seems to me that if living in a Democrat “utopia “ was so wonderful, people wouldn’t want to leave. But they do. Just like they leave Cuba. Russia and other commie states.

  6. The wealthy people usually reside in another state, not Vermont.
    These wealthy people have second houses in Vermont for pleasure living

    The low-income people usually come here to sign up with government programs to get benefits to supplement there low incomes.

    About 250,000 to 300,000, long-term, tax-paying California residents are leaving each year, to escape excessive rules and regulations, excessive taxation, and wacky wokeness.
    They go to various freedom-loving states, such as Florida and Texas and Idaho

    • Those people are being replaced by illiterate, uneducated, unskilled, inexperienced folks, from all over the world, who walk across Biden’s open border, UNVETTED, and are spread throughout the US to start “enrolling” on various government programs that provide free food, shelter, education, and medical care, including Social Security and Medicare and Disability.
      Does anyone think, they come here to “fight global warming”?

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