I ran across an article that parses IRS data on which states are gaining population and which are losing population. GA is doing pretty well on the list… only a couple of states gained more population that we did here in GA. Texas and North Carolina picked up more households than the 37,000+ Georgia picked up. The big losers were Michigan and New York.
The information was assembled by the AP from IRS data points. Here is a link back to the article.
The fun part is figuring out why… Jobs, taxes and corporate relocation would be the things that would pop to the front of my mind. Michigan has been getting pounded for a decade on the jobs front. As the economy slowed down, that wasn’t improved. New York, New Jersey and California have all increased taxes on the wealthy, and there has been a flight to lower tax states like Florida and Nevada as a result. Texas has also been very business friendly. North Carolina has become a central point for tech oriented companies, and might even get a bigger reputation that Silicon Valley in CA.
Georgia has reasonable taxes and a friendly business climate. Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta connects to the world in a way that few airports elsewhere can… Atlanta is VERY connected. The climate is mild, but not as hot as FL during the summer…
But there is no question that the I-85 corridor, extending through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina is one of the best business corridors in the country right now…