Farmington went through numerous “oil and gas” booms during the 20th century, and at one time, Farmington was the leading producer of oil and gas in the state of New Mexico. Over the last few years, however, Farmington’s population declined by about 4.0% over a period when every other metro area in New Mexico grew by at least 3.0%.
Perhaps if compared with other tiny towns in New Mexico some might like this sort of laid-back town with nothing to do, but most people don’t and scoot on out when they get the chance.
Vineland, New Jersey
The city of Bridgeton lost about 5,732 people between 2010 and 2018. New Jersey is one of the slowest expanding states in the nation. In the last eight years, the Garden State's population expanded at a leisurely pace of just 1.2%, a fraction of the 5.8% national population growth over that same period.
Population growth across the state has been hampered lately by people increasingly getting carried away by, as you could guess by now, better career opportunities. In 2018, the unemployment rate was 7.5% in Bridgerton and 4.1% in New Jersey.
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Sierra Vista may be a sorry excuse for a town that only exists because of the army base. It's basically a retirement village with nothing to do. It’s quiet which is great if you don't mind some down-time, but otherwise, this town isn’t going anywhere.
Surrounded by towering 10,000-foot mountains and known as the “Humming Bird Capital of the U.S.,” Sierra Vista is primed for outdoor exploration, but in spite of that, about 7,500 people moved out of Sierra Vista in the last eight years.
Watertown, New York
Overall, Watertown is an alright place to live, not terrible but not great either. Watertown is one of three cities in upstate New York to report near nation-leading population decline in the last nine years. Basically, 14,000 people moved out of the city than moved in.
The economy in Upstate New York lags behind most of the nation, and more people than usual decided to take the leap and move on out. Basically, people are leaving because they are overtaxed, overregulated, and property costs are too high.
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
North Carolina is such a beautiful state, known for its gorgeous weather as well as some of the nicest neighbors around, so why are there those who leave Rocky Mount while others are flocking to this state? In the last eight years, the state's population ballooned by 8.5%.
But Rocky Mount residents were more likely than other residents across the state to struggle financially, so of course, who could blame them for saying their goodbyes and clearing out to another town?