Cities People are Rushing to Move Away from in Every State

This article was originally published on Lizanest.com

Some towns seem like perfect places to put down roots. But in every state, there’s one community where residents are packing up and heading out faster than anywhere else.

Behind the moving trucks are some surprising stories: military orders, graduating students, soaring rents, brutal winters, and even a hurricane. In a few places, nearly one in five people left in a single year.

From college towns to Army bases, here’s the town in every state that people can’t seem to leave fast enough.

Alabama: Auburn

Auburn sits in the rolling hills of east Alabama. Settlers founded it in 1836, and a college opened there twenty years later. Today that school, Auburn University, is the heart of town. Game days pack the streets with fans. But a college town is always changing.

In one year, about 8,900 people left Lee County. That is nearly 8 out of every 100 residents. Most are probably students who graduated and moved on for jobs. Others may be young families chasing bigger paychecks in Atlanta or Birmingham.

Alaska: Fairbanks

Gold put Fairbanks on the map. In 1902, a miner named Felix Pedro struck it rich nearby, and a boom town grew fast. Today it is the biggest town in Alaska’s Interior, famous for northern lights and winter days with under four hours of sun. Life here is not for everyone.

Close to 12 percent of the borough moved away in a single year, around 9,300 people. Two big military bases, Fort Wainwright and Eielson, send troops in and out all the time. The brutal cold and high living costs likely push others south too.

Arizona: Casa Grande

Halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, Casa Grande grew up around a railroad stop in 1879. Its name means “big house,” after ancient Hohokam ruins nearby. For years it was a quiet farm town. Then cheap land drew a flood of newcomers, and many did not stay put.

Pinal County lost about 24,000 people to moves in one year, roughly 8.6 percent. Many likely went only an hour away, closer to jobs in Phoenix. Long commutes and summer heat over 110 degrees may also wear people down. New homes kept filling up, though.

Arkansas: Cabot

Trains built Cabot. The town started in the 1870s along the railroad, northeast of Little Rock. Now it is known for good schools and quiet neighborhoods. Many families who live here have ties to Little Rock Air Force Base, just down the road, where nobody stays forever.

About 8 in 100 people in Lonoke County moved out within a year, nearly 4,700 in all. Military families get new orders every few years, so they pack up often. Some residents probably also moved closer to work in the Little Rock area.