Data Shows Arizona’s Population Gain Driven By Migration From Left-Leaning States
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s population has exploded over the past three decades, thanks, in part, to movement from states under the control of leftist politicians.
Recently, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) shared data from the Internal Revenue Service, showing that almost 1.5 million individuals have migrated to Arizona from other states, between the years of 1990-2021.
The Grand Canyon State’s gain has been due to other left-leaning states’ loss. California, for example, has shed more than 4.6 million people during that timeframe. New York lost over 4.6 million people as well, and Illinois said ‘goodbye’ to another 2 million individuals.
It wasn’t just Arizona that benefited from the migration patterns of people for the past thirty years. More than 3.7 million people made their way to Florida, and another 2.6 million individuals relocated to Texas.
In an op-ed for Newsweek, Edward J. Pinto, the Senior Fellow and Codirector of the AEI Housing Center, wrote, “For the past 30 years, progressive policies have fueled a mass exodus of the citizens of California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts, whether with high-, middle-, or blue collar incomes. From 1990 to 2021, net domestic migration fleeing their states has totaled 13 million… Meanwhile, the red states of Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, and South Carolina have had net in-migration of 13 million over the same period.”
Pinto added, “If these blue state governors want to reverse this mass out migration, time is of the essence. They should focus on enacting the kinds of policies that drew their erstwhile residents to Florida and Texas: lowering taxes, getting tough on crime, promoting deregulation, reforming public pensions, enacting school choice, enforcing immigration laws, helping blue-collar workers find good paying jobs, ending rent control where prevalent, and adopting light-touch density (LTD) and livable urban villages(LUV). LTD and LUV legalize homes built by the free market that are affordable and inclusionary.”
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who served eight years as the state’s chief executive, reacted to a recent article from Fox News about the failure of California’s Gavin Newsom to end homelessness in San Francisco, stating, “The 21st anniversary is coming up… for California residents who are sick of ‘leaders’ who talk big and deliver nothing, there’s a simple solution: UHaul.com.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen told AZ Free News, “Approximately 200 people move to Arizona every day. If you ask why, they will tell you because it is a safe, good place to raise a family and educate your kids. They will also say things like, it is a great place to do business, with low taxes and fewer regulations. What they are really saying is that the state they are fleeing has bad public policy and Arizona has good public policy. This is a direct reflection of the laws passed by the Republican-led legislature.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.