N.C. still a magnet luring newcomers
Triangle Business Journal – by Lee Weisbecker
Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 10:46am EST
As a target for people relocating across state lines, North Carolina’s capital rose in 2010.
In fact, the state’s “in-migration rate” rose to third nationally last year, according to a new study by United Van Lines. North Carolina stood in 10th place in 2009.
The moving company, in its 34th consecutive survey, looked at 146,837 interstate household moves among the 48 contiguous states and Washington D.C.
It categorizes the states as “high inbound” (55 percent or more of the relocations moving into a state), “high outbound” (55 percent or more moves going out of a state) or “balanced.”
North Carolina fell into the high in-bound category with an in-migration rate of 57.8 percent.
The top destination, for the third year in a row, was Washington, DC, with an in-migration score of 64.3 percent.
North Carolina’s population has been growing at more than 9.7 percent, which is twice the national average, the survey remarks, adding: “This migration to the Tar Heel State has been aided by a combination of two things: a high quality of life and the growth of high-tech industries, including biotech, aerospace and information and communications technology.”
