West Virginia has been ranked as one of the worst states to live in the US, so it’s not exactly a surprise that people are leaving in droves. A report published in 2018 found that over 11,000 people left West Virginia in just one year. With so many people scrambling to relocate, Charleston is one of the worst-hit cities. Despite being the state capital and offering many attractions, people just don’t want to stick around in Charleston any longer. In the last ten years, Charleston has lost a tremendous 8% of its residents.
Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska has had to take it up a notch to get more people to move to the state in recent years, and according to the 2010 census, it worked! People were granted economic incentives to relocate to Anchorage by the Alaskan state, and in 2010 the population grew by 12%.
Even though Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, it still seems as though they struggle, with the number of people fleeing Anchorage on the rise.
Claremont, New Hampshire
There aren’t many cities in New Hampshire to pick and choose from, but the three most populated cities all saw an influx of residents. Nashua, Manchester, and Concord relished in their growth spurts, but Claremont was left behind. This small city lost an approximated 2.9% of its people, and there are two main reasons why they left.
Claremont has the highest property taxes in New Hampshire, with an average household income of 70% less than the state average. It would appear that Claremont is simply unaffordable
Ocean City, New Jersey
Despite Ocean City's thriving tourism industry, its residents have been migrating to other cities since 2000. In a space of 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, 23.9% of Ocean City’s residents decided to move to another city.
The population has dwindled by an additional 5.6% since 2010, with the high cost of living the most conceivable reason for this trend in migration. People from across New Jersey are leaving for better prices as the State's residential prices are astronomical.
Shreveport, Louisiana
Louisiana is known for its many festivals; even in Shreveport, there's a springtime celebration, “Holiday in Dixie,” and the “Red River Revel,” an arts and crafts fair. Still, even that couldn't keep the population stable. Shreveport has seen its population decrease by 5.2% since 2010 with predictions that this trend will continue.
Like many midsize American cities, Shreveport deals with infrastructure concerns, salary inequality, and crime. But there are still the many positives to this city, like friendly people, beautiful green spaces and great food!