POLLING: Former MA Residents Say High Taxes Were Top Reason For Moving Out

Massachusetts has historically been a great place to live, boasting sweeping scenery, nation leading education and health care, and a long-time powerhouse economy. But a new survey of former residents shows the Commonwealth’s growing tax burden and overall cost of living is eroding these positives, and causing people to look to move elsewhere in search of better affordability and quality of life.

Last year, MOA surveyed people who had moved out of the state between 2022 and 2024, and found high taxes and cost of living were the primary reasons people left. Since then, we know more residents have considered leaving the state, according to additional polls from the Boston Globe. 

Most recently, MOA surveyed over 1,100 former residents of the Commonwealth who moved out between 2024 and 2026, and taxes and cost of living remain top concerns. The results confirm these issues are still plaguing residents across the Commonwealth and potentially accelerating outmigration. 

This pattern of outmigration means our state is losing tax dollars as well as talented residents, including entrepreneurs and innovators. This continued loss threatens our ability to compete with other states for investment and business expansion, meaning affordability is not just a quality-of-life issue, but an economic competitiveness one as well.

About the Survey

MOA surveyed 1,151 people who voted in Massachusetts in the 2024 election, but have moved to key competitor states New Hampshire, Florida, and North Carolina, based on their most recent voter registration. The survey was conducted via text message by an independent survey research firm between July 28-29, 2026 with a margin of error of +/- 3. 

Fifty-five percent of respondents moved to Florida, another 19% moved to North Carolina, and 26% moved to New Hampshire.

The respondents represent a variety of tenures in the Commonwealth, with more than one-third (37.5%) saying they were born and lived in Massachusetts their whole life. Another 38.1% say they lived in Massachusetts more than 20 years.

More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents still have family ties to Massachusetts.

High Taxes Were Top Reason To Move Out

When asked about their reasons for leaving, 50.7% of respondents said the Commonwealth’s high tax burden played a leading role, the most-cited response. Other top reasons included dissatisfaction with state government (48.1%), and general cost of living concerns (43.7%). Respondents were allowed to choose more than one reason. 

When asked specifically about the state’s taxes, a whopping 80.9% said they believe they are too high. This is a substantial jump from last year’s survey of former residents, where 70.7% said taxes influenced their decision to leave.

A majority of respondents across all party affiliations believe Massachusetts’ taxes are too high.

Of all the taxes levied in the Commonwealth, income taxes were the top concern (selected by 70.6%) for respondents, including another 12.7% specifically concerned about the surtax on incomes over $1 million. That is significantly larger than the share of Massachusetts taxpayers subject to the surtax, which the latest IRS data shows is roughly 1% of all taxpayers in the state. The second highest concern was over local property taxes (61.4%), followed by car excise taxes (50.2%).

Other Cost of Living Challenges Are Pushing Out Residents Too

The second-highest reason former residents moved out was due to the overall high cost of living in Massachusetts. Respondents broke it down by category, with nearly half (49.1%) saying rent or home prices were the biggest cost of living challenge, and one in five respondents cited high utilities costs (21.7%).

82.8% of former residents say their quality of life has improved since moving to their new state, a similar share as the survey of former residents conducted last year.

A majority of respondents (57.9%) also say they believe their new state has a better environment for small businesses.