Minnesotans never leave and no one moves here

Photo by b r e n t

If you are a transplant in Minnesota, you've most likely said something like this after moving to the Land of 10,000 Lakes: "Man, it seems like everyone in this state grew up here." And then you've probably complained about making new friends because Minnesotans still hang out with their best friends from grade school.

Well your observations were quite correct. A new Pew Research Center study on moving patterns in the United States shows that Minnesota is one of the top "sticky" states and one of the lowest "magnetic" states. In other words, Minnesotans tend to stick around and transplants from other states don't really pick Minnesota when they move away from home. According to the Pew study, Minnesota is the 8th stickiest state with more than 66 percent of it's residents born in the state and still living there. Minnesota ranks 13th least magnetic, with only 29 percent of the state's residents moving from another place.

Texas tops the list for sticky states: More than 78 percent of their population was born there. District of Columbia is the least sticky with just 13 percent of their population also calling it their birthplace. The study uses 2007 census data to make these conclusions.

The Uptown Minneapolis blog also points to another Pew study that analyzes movers and stayers. Nationwide, 37 percent of Americans have only lived in one town. About 20 percent have stayed in the same state, 15 percent have lived in two states and 12 percent have lived in three states. Only 15 percent of respondents have lived in four or more states.

Where do you fit in? Can you tell through anecdotal evidence that Minnesota is a sticky state?