More evidence that Maine has become a move-in destination
COURTESY / U-HAUL
Maine was highly ranked as a move-in destination by two national moving companies.
More evidence is coming in that Maine has become a destination for people fleeing more urban areas during the pandemic.
In reports released Monday by two moving companies, Maine ranked No. 8 as a move-in destination by the U-Haul Growth Index, while United Van Lines had Maine at No. 14.
The U-Haul Growth Index, with Maine as the No. 8 destination for 2021, showed the Pine Tree State jumping up from No. 29. The ranking is based on one-way U-Haul truck transactions in 2021, the company said.
Growth states are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from well over 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions that occur annually.
Sun Belt states were favorites overall, with Texas, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Arizona as the Top 5 growth states in America. By contrast, California and Illinois saw the largest out-migration, ranking No. 50 and 49, respectively.
"We see a lot of growth coming from the East and West Coast," said Matt Merrill, a U-Haul district vice president responsible for Dallas and Fort-Worth as well as West Texas. "A lot of people are moving here from California and New York. We also see a lot of people coming in from the Chicago markets. I think that's a lot due to the job growth — [there’s] a lot of opportunity here. The cost of living here is much lower than those areas. Texas is open for business."
Maine has already seen other data indicating its popularity as a COVID-era destination. The median home price jumped to $300,000 in November, up from $270,000 a year earlier. A more pressing concern even has been the lack of housing inventory. There were 33% fewer homes for sale in November than in the period a year ago, and 59% fewer than in November 2019, according to a recent report from the Maine Association of Realtors.
As of May 2021, here are the top states where people have been moving from: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Florida and California.
The United Van Lines report
Among New England states in the U-Haul report, Vermont was closest to Maine, ranking No. 12. Maine and Vermont would figure into another ranking as well.
In its annual rankings, United Van Lines had Maine at No. 14, based on its customer data, while Vermont was No. 1.
In 2021 among United Van Lines customers in Maine, there were 797 inbound shipments and 579 outbound shipments.
The Top 5 states in the United Van Lines ranking were Vermont, South Dakota, South Carolina, West Virginia and Florida. New Jersey and Illinois were at the bottom.
Massachusetts ranked No. 47 in the U-Haul rankings and No. 43 in the United Van Lines data.
A similar study but with 2019 data showed Maine as the No. 3 destination. That study, by Atlas Van Lines, measured migration patterns in 2020. In 2020 Maine had 254 households moving in and 153 moving out. Only Idaho and North Carolina had higher move-in rates.
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If these are remote workers moving here and their main work location is in another state, e.g., NY or CA then they may still be paying that states taxes as working remotely is not a requirement of the job. Increase in ME provided services but no increase in revenue.
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