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Suffolk poll: 1 in 3 have considered leaving Mass. over costs
Almost one-quarter of voters said their greatest concern was healthcare costs, trailed by worries over housing affordability and taxes.
One in three Massachusetts voters have toyed with the idea of leaving the state over concerns about the cost of living, according to a recent poll from Suffolk University and The Boston Globe.
Among 500 residents surveyed, 32.4%, or 162, said they have considered leaving Massachusetts within the last year, according to the Nov. 25 poll, which also examined Sen. Ed Markey and Gov. Maura Healey’s reelection prospects.
As for the economy, almost one-quarter of those surveyed said their greatest concern was healthcare costs, trailed by worries over housing affordability and taxes. To that end, about two-thirds of voters polled supported a proposed ballot question to reduce the state income tax from 5% to 4% by 2029, and nearly 63% supported a proposal to cap annual rent increases at 5%.
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Nearly half of respondents said they expected their household financial situation to remain the same over the next year, while more than one-quarter predicted their finances would somewhat or significantly worsen. Asked for the single biggest strain on their household budget, voters were split, though 21% pointed to utilities.
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Separately, nearly 40% of voters polled described the U.S. economy as “poor,” with the largest share of respondents ranking inflation and the cost of living as their greatest concerns. Just 21% rated the economy “good” or “excellent,” compared to 41% in a Suffolk/Globe poll from last October.
“Public perception of the US economy has dropped off the table over the last year. And a number of voters say utility costs are a major strain on their budgets today,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said in a press release.
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Outmigration has been a longstanding concern for Massachusetts, where a 2024 MassINC Polling Group survey of 1,408 residents found that 21% could see themselves moving out of state within five years. Also last year, a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation survey found that 25% of Greater Boston’s young people planned to leave in the next five years over concerns about job availability, the cost of rent, and the ability to buy a home.
Data from U-Haul and United Van Lines showed at least some Massachusetts residents made good on that promise last year, leaving the state for more affordable regions like the Southeast.
The Bay State’s population still rose by 69,503 in 2024, thanks in large part to international immigration, as Boston.com previously reported. And yet, as the conservative-leaning think tank Pioneer Institute noted last year, outmigration levels were 10 times greater in 2023 than they were in 2010.
Separately, a statewide housing needs assessment highlighted an increasing trend of outmigration, particularly among young adults. Higher education opportunities in Massachusetts attract young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, the state noted, “but at every other age group Massachusetts is losing more residents than it attracts.”
Analysis from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business last year indicates outmigration cost Massachusetts $4.3 billion in adjusted gross income and $213.7 million in tax revenue during the 2020-2021 tax year, with the majority of that money flowing to Florida, New Hampshire, and Maine.
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People between the ages of 26 to 34 left in the largest numbers, though most of the lost adjusted gross income was tied to the departure of residents aged 55 to 64, the analysis found.
“This isn’t just retirees leaving Massachusetts for warmer weather,” Questrom School of Business Professor Mark Williams said at the time. “Over half the residents who leave stay in New England.”
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