Most Sunflower State media kicked off 2017 news coverage citing a press release showing Kansas is a one of the states people were mostly like to move from in 2015.
Wichita Eagle: Report lists Kansas as ‘high outbound’ state for migration
KSN: Kansas ranks No. 5 on list of most moved from state in 2016
United Van Lines, a moving company, used data from 246,000 transports completed in 2015 to compile the list. The list showed that Kansas ranked 5th in people moving away behind New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. News media ran it as gospel truth, though it was a press release backed up by data that was hardly scientific.
It’s worth noting–though none of the media did–that Kansas has had negative migration every year since 1995, and in that, the Sunflower State is hardly alone. Kansas is one of 23 states with negative migration between 2000 and 2015.
Are there policies that may influence people to stay? Are there policies encouraging people to leave? No one bothered to ask.
