Where you from?

It's no secret that the population of North Carolina continues to grow and grow and grow. Here in Wake County, the general "data point" that is commonly thrown around is something like "every day, a whole kindergarten class of children move into the county." I am probably butchering the stat, but the sentiment is there. People want to move to North Carolina. And they are.

But from where are they moving? I was a little surprised at the answer, which the UNC Center for Population recently released, according to the Wilmington Star-News. I would have thought the majority of people moving to the Old North State were from the northeast -- cold-weather places with traffic congestion and higher costs of living. The northeast does play a part in the emigration to N.C., just not the impact I would have guessed.

According to the UNC Center for Population, the top state for sending new residents to North Carolina is .... {drum roll} ... Virginia. The Old Dominion sent 35,641 people to our state in 2016, followed by Florida (32,234) and South Carolina (32,088). The northeast finally gets represented by New York (29,702) at fourth place, followed by Georgia (24,882), according to the study.

Here is the top 10:

1. Virginia (35,641)

2. Florida (32,234)

3. South Carolina (32,088)

4. New York (29,702)

5. Georgia (24,882)

6. California (17,653)

7. Pennsylvania (13,506)

8. Texas (11,981)

9. New Jersey (11,706)

10. Maryland (9,671)

Source: University of North Carolina Population Center

 

Now, here is that same list, but in (somewhat stereotypical) image form!