A survey released this month shows that a “distressing number” of young people living in Boston are likely to move out of the metro area within the next five years.
The poll commissioned by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce found that 26 percent of 20 to 30-year-olds see themselves moving from Beantown in the next five years.
That figure is up from 25 percent in 2023, so not the direction local leaders would like to see.
The main factors respondents listed as “total important” in their decision to move are job availability (79 percent), safety (79 percent), cost of rent (78 percent), and ability to buy a home (72 percent).
A “distressing number” of young people are looking to leave the Greater Boston area, a new survey shows. Here’s why. https://t.co/PFPUi9CwWo
— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) April 23, 2026
The poll also highlighted a “concerning decline” in the day-to-day life satisfaction of young people living in Boston, now at 79 percent, down 10 percent from 2023’s finding of 89 percent.
Of those planning to leave, over half look to move to states in the Southwest (23 percent) or the Southeast (23 percent).
However, 45 percent of those planning to leave Boston would want to end up within Massachusetts.
Boston.com reported in February that a net of more than 30,000 residents left Massachusetts for other states in 2025.
“When Massachusetts loses residents, it loses competitiveness,” Christopher Anderson, co-organizer at the business advocacy group Mass Opportunity Alliance, said in a statement.
He continued, “Businesses follow talent, and persistent out-migration makes it harder to attract investment and grow jobs. This new data confirms what residents and employers alike are experiencing: high costs and an uncompetitive tax structure are pushing people out of the state.
Florida was the biggest beneficiary of the out-migration from Massachusetts, with nearly 22,000 moving to the Sunshine State. Further, 15,720 went to California, 11,600 to Connecticut, 4,900 to Georgia, 1,800 to Alaska, 1,500 to Alabama, and 1,100 to Arizona, to name some of the destinations.
NBC Boston affiliate WBTS-CD reported, “A controversial ballot proposal, backed by several business groups and opposed by top State House Democrats, would drop the state’s income tax from 5% to 4% over three years — a change supporters say will help bring people into Massachusetts and convince others not to leave, but that opponents say will slash the state’s revenue and force cuts across programs.”
Massachusetts currently ranks 8th among the highest income tax rates in the country (with a flat 5 percent, but a 4 percent surcharge for higher income earners), behind California at No. 1, with a top rate of 13.3 percent, according to Turbotax.
Some of the states with the lowest income tax rates are Arizona, with a 2.5 percent flat rate, and Indiana at 3 percent flat rate. South Carolina has a progressive rate starting at 3 percent up to 6 percent.
States with no personal income tax include Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
Forbes reported in January 2024 that the three states gaining the most population were Florida, Texas, and South Carolina. Among those losing the most were the high-tax states of California, Illinois, and New York.
The Boston Chamber of Commerce survey polled 600 people ages 20 to 30 years between Feb. 27 and March 20. The margin of error was +/- 4.12 percent.
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