"The Big Sort" + Other Headlines

Tuesday Digest (10.15.24)

Families are Moving from Blue States to Red States

A new set of research from the Institute for Family Studies has found that America’s most politically progressive states are losing families in record numbers. They’re moving from these reliably blue states to more politically and socially conservative ones.

This article explains the report:

Reliably blue states — i.e., states that voted for Democratic presidential candidates in both 2016 and 2020 — lost 213,000 families with children in 2021 and 2022, the researchers said. 

Meanwhile, states that voted Republican in both elections gained 181,000 families. “Purple” states that flipped between the two parties in the last presidential elections, like Arizona and Georgia, also posted gains, attracting 38,000 families. 

Researchers point out that this blue state exodus of families is taking place despite the blue states having more liberal family policies, like refundable tax credits, paid family leave and free school lunches. Negative factors like high housing costs and liberal social policies have sent more conservatives packing to red states.

Here are some of the biggest losers and winners, in terms of population: