Massachusetts Is Losing Residents, But Could the SouthCoast Grow?

Since 1978, United Van Lines has put out an annual migration study that ranks the most popular areas of America that people are moving to, and also the most popular areas of the country that people are leaving.

As you can imagine, the stats for 2020 are pretty interesting. Not surprisingly, states that have struggled with COVID-19 are seeing more people fleeing, particularly if they have big cities.

Massachusetts ranked in the top 10 for states that are lost people during the pandemic. We came in at No. 8.

Where are people moving? Places like Florida, the Carolinas, Alabama and Tennessee in the East. Arizona, Idaho, and Oregon are popular in the West.

The trend to vacate big cities during the pandemic in favor of more suburban or rural areas makes me wonder if the SouthCoast just might see a population bump.

I could see people who live in Boston and the more populated areas around the capital city moving down to the SouthCoast where there's more room and the cost of living is significantly more affordable.

Plus, with the passing of each month here on the SouthCoast, a commuter rail seems to slowly become more and more of a reality. This could make a SouthCoast-to-Boston commute more palatable for some.

That's if people are even still commuting to Boston after this pandemic is over (hopefully by the end of this year). A lot of people who work in town have figured out that they don't have to actually physically be there, at least not every day.

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