Poll: 41 Percent of N.J. Residents Want to Move Out of State

A hefty amount of New Jersey residents say they want to move out of state, but few are actually planning on doing so, a new poll out this week says.

The Gallup poll shows 41 percent of Garden State residents want to leave – the sixth highest percentage of the 50 states – but New Jersey did not crack the top ten list of states where residents said they were likely to actually move in the next year.

The findings are from a 50-state poll, conducted June through December 2013, which includes at least 600 representative interviews with residents aged 18 and older in each state.

On average, 33 percent of residents told poll takers that they wanted to leave their home state. In Illinois and Connecticut, 50 and 49 percent of residents said they wanted to leave, respectively – the highest percentages nationwide. By contrast, just 23 percent of Montana, Maine and Hawaii residents wanted to leave, the lowest percentages nationwide.

Though New Jersey tied New York with 41 percent of residents desirous of seeking greener pastures, New Yorkers were more likely to follow through with their plans. Overall, 16 percent of the Empire State's residents said they were likely to move within 12 months, with 20 percent citing the cost of living as their primary motivator – the only state where a majority of residents polled cited that reason.

New Jersey was not listed among the states where a high percentage of residents were planning on leaving within a year.

The Gallup poll follows research released last year by United Van Lines, which showed New Jersey was losing more residents than any other state. The company, in its report, said 62 percent of interstate moves involving New Jerseyans last year were people leaving the state, according to an NJ.com report.