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Ridgewood NJ, Americans continue to vote with their feet, in an acceleration of pre-COVID trends way from California and the Northeast and to the South.
Continue reading Voting With Their feet Americans Continue to Flee High Tax States
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By Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 17, 2016 at 1:16 PM, updated November 17, 2016 at 3:25 PM
More than 200,000 residents left New Jersey last year, new Census data shows.
The state lost 17,000 more people than it gained back, as residents left for other states and overseas, according to the 2015 American Community Survey. The loss could signal potential future issues with its population and economy.
New Jersey residents — 227,000 of them — abandoned the state ranked dead last in income growth last year, and with the highest property taxes.
Most of what the state gained back came from foreign immigration, which netted the state 62,000 new residents last year. Earlier data suggests that many of those immigrants come from Asia, as the region accounted for 45 percent of new foreign migrants in 2014.
Some data has indicated that source of the population is falling as well, since better job growth in other states has led immigrants to choose more welcoming areas.
Births in New Jersey, though declining, are still high enough to replace the loss of migrants. But the coming decades could see an era of shrinking population and the economic problems that come with it.
Poor population growth is closely tied with economic issues. New Jersey relies on an influx of residents to grow its industries and contribute to government services.
