You've heard plenty from us throughout 2021 about the heated housing market and the exodus for many from city life to the New Jersey suburbs in the face of a global pandemic.

But none of that was enough to remove New Jersey from the bottom part of a yearly list that looks at the number of people moving in and out of the 50 states.

According to Move.org, the Garden State had the eighth most outbound moves in 2021. Move.org's survey also included a list of states with the most inbound moves, and New Jersey didn't make the cut.

"Our state has so many wonderful attributes, but if you're a senior on a fixed income or a middle-class family living paycheck to paycheck, it's just not affordable," said William Smith, director of communications for Garden State Initiative.

"Our property taxes are four times the national average, the income tax is among the highest," he added. "There's the insult to injury the last few years, we've seen double-digit percentage increases in the gas tax and tolls."

Prior to the pandemic, a poll from GSI found that nearly half of New Jerseyans were considering a move out of New Jersey.

"The No. 1 driver was not the weather, it was taxes and the overall cost of living," Smith said.

According to Move.org, 20% of all moves made in the U.S. in 2021 were interstate moves. Close to two-thirds of survey respondents said they'd consider a move in 2022 if the Omicron COVID-19 variant worsens.

In Move.org's 2021 report, New York made both the list of states with the most outbound moves and the list of states with the most inbound moves.

According to the latest census data, New Jersey added 500,000 to its population over the past decade. Over the last 10 years, 200 out of 565 municipalities lost population.

Contact reporter Dino Flammia at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com.

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