New US Census data: People really want to move to Arizona

People are moving out of cold states like the Midwest and Northeast and heading south and west, particularly to Arizona.

Arizona was a big winner on population over the last fiscal year. More than 45,000 people moved to Arizona from other states.

That is about 10,000 more than expected in one year. In fact, Arizona is ranked as the 14th most populous state with 99,282 new residents reported in the last census.

Arizona is benefiting from the change. Garrick Taylor with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce is not surprised with the shift. He said Arizona has all the right components that encourage business.

“We’ve got the right mix of a good tax environment, labor environment, legal environment, and we’re about to make a really big move on K-12 education,” said Taylor.

The latest U.S. Census data also shows nearly 20,000 people moved to Arizona from other countries. That’s a big contrast from states like California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. Those states lost tens of thousands of people to other states.

“We’re attracting things like Super Bowls, national football championships, as always spring training and the Waste Management Phoenix Open,” said Taylor. ” We’ve got a lot of jewels in our crown, and we’re a very attractive place to be.”

Taylor is hopeful new steps in education funding will attract even more families in the coming years.

The Washington Post reports demographic shifts and people moving from state to state decreased as the U.S. economy slowed during the recession. Now, census data shows trends are moving back to a pre-recession pace.

Other winning states were Texas, Washington D.C., South Carolina and Colorado. States that lost the most in population were California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.

KTAR’s Martha Maurer contributed to this report.

Source: http://ktar.com