Drysdale, Sam
Boston’s State House, January 7, 2025.According to U.S. Census data released last month, Massachusetts witnessed its largest population rise in 60 years between 2023 and 2024, driven by the highest immigration levels in decades. At the same time, the rate of domestic outmigration has dramatically slowed.
The state’s population grew by 69,603 from 7,066,568 to 7,136,171 between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, representing a rise of less than 1% (0.985%).
According to a UMass Donahue Institute analysis of the December U.S. Census population estimates, that represents the most yearly percentage growth Massachusetts has seen since 2012–2013.
In terms of numbers, it’s the biggest yearly population growth since the Baby Boom ended in 1964.
According to the institute, the gains put Massachusetts as the second fastest growing state in the Northeast after New Jersey and the fastest expanding state in New England.
Immigration is the biggest factor, with an expected 90,217 new arrivals between 2023 and 2024. According to the census, that is the greatest amount of immigration since at least 1990.
According to the institute’s data, immigration is the main cause of Massachusetts’ population shift, but other variables also contribute. Massachusetts’s population grew by 6,718 on net in 2024 as a result of more births (67,851) than deaths (61,133).
Thousands of refugees and migrants have flooded into Massachusetts’ emergency family shelter system, pushing the system’s financial and physical boundaries as they seek temporary lodging in the wake of wars, political upheavals, and natural disasters. Immigrants who are legitimately seeking asylum or shelter are not distinguished from those who are entering the nation in other ways by the census data.
Since many young adults and families fled Massachusetts in the early days of the pandemic to settle in states with cheaper cost of living, the term “domestic outmigration,” which refers to people moving from one state to another, has been a controversial political matter for a number of years.
In order to prevent Bay Staters from relocating, conservatives blame high taxes for domestic outmigration and urge Democrats to reduce tax burdens. On the other hand, progressives have cited the high cost of child care and housing and advocated for increased state funding for initiatives that would help families reduce those expenses.
According to Areport from U-Haul, which uses one-way trailer rentals from one state to another to gauge migration, Massachusetts is the second-to-last state in the union in terms of incoming U-Hauls. The right-handed The research was utilized by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance to urge Governor Maura Healey to lower taxes.
The U-Haul report supports the daily observations we all make. In unprecedented numbers, our neighbors, friends, and family are moving to places that are more welcoming to living and working in. This is unsustainable, and in order to get our state back on track, Governor Healey must present to the people a plan for widespread tax cuts and eliminations that she will implement during her next State of the Commonwealth. “We need to do better and the Governor needs to lead if Massachusetts is going to maintain its tax base,” said Paul Craney, a Fiscal Alliance spokesman.
The U-Haul report prompted a response from the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance on Monday as well.
“We’re proud to call Massachusetts home, but residents are looking elsewhere for better value due to rising costs and high taxes,” said Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, which co-founded the alliance with Pioneer Institute and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. This concerning trend is highlighted by the fact that we are the second-worst state for one-way U-Haul moves. It’s time for Massachusetts to become a prosperous state for all.
Outmigration from Massachusetts has considerably decreased during the last two years, according to census data.
According to the Donahue Institute analysis, domestic migration in Massachusetts has been increasing since a peak net outflow of 54,843 in 2022, indicating that the migration during the 2021–2022 period may have been the result of a brief shock effect, possibly impacted by work-from-home trends or urban–rural migration after the COVID-19 pandemic.
It goes on, Net domestic outmigration dropped to 36,572 by 2023 and then dropped once more to 27,480 by 2024, which is almost half of the 2022 peak outflow.
Since 2020, there has been an overall increase in immigration and a decrease in out-migration. According to UMass, net migration rose by 62,737 individuals in 2024 after increasing by 1,762 in 2021.
