California, Hawaii and Florida the States Where the Most People Would Like to Live

Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon move up the list as Florida, Texas, and Washington lose ground

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Oct 19, 2010, 07:02 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Notwithstanding its economic and political problems, more Americans would like to live in California than in any other state. For the seventh time in a row since 2002 California tops the list of states where the most people would like to live if they did not live in their own states. The next most popular states are Hawaii, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, New York and Washington.

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STATES WHERE MOST PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO LIVE - APART FROM THEIR OWN STATE
"If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in?"
Base: All U.S. Adults

	2010
California	1
Hawaii	2
Florida	3
Colorado	4
Arizona	5
North Carolina	6
Oregon	7
Texas	8
New York	9
Washington	10

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,620 adults surveyed online between September 14 and 20, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

The Harris Poll has been asking this question almost every year since 1997. Over the last seven surveys, Hawaii and Florida have jockeyed for second and third places behind California, while other states have moved up and down below them. Several states have moved up in the rankings in this year's survey:

Hawaii up from #3 to #2;
Colorado up from #5 to #4;
Arizona up from #6 to #5; and,
Oregon up from #10 to #7.

Three states that were not in the top 15 last year moved up: New Jersey (#12), Nevada (#13) and Virginia (#=14).

States that have lost ground and slipped down the rankings include:

Florida down from #2 to #3;
Texas down from #4 to #8; and,
Washington down from #6 to #10.

Three states that were in the top 15 last year drop out of the list this year: South Carolina, Massachusetts and Georgia.

Differences by generation

There is some disagreement between younger and older people. While California tops the list of most popular states to live in among Echo Boomers (now aged 18 to 33) and Gen Xers (aged 34 to 45), Hawaii is the top pick for Baby Boomers (now aged 46 to 64) and Matures (aged 65 and over). Among Echo Boomers, Hawaii drops out of the top five.

So What?

These rankings highlight the powerful attraction of a warm climate. Colorado and Oregon are the only two of the top eight states, apart from Hawaii, that are not in the Sunbelt.

TABLE 1 STATES WHERE MOST PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO LIVE - APART FROM THEIR OWN STATE "If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in?"
Base: All U.S. Adults
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2005	2006	2007	2009	2010
California	3	3	2	5	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Hawaii	7	=7	=9	7	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	2
Florida	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	2	2	3
Colorado	4	2	3	2	4	4	4	4	7	5	5	4
Arizona	2	5	6	4	6	6	6	6	9	8	=6	5
North Carolina	6	4	4	3	7	5	8	=8	4	4	=6	6
Oregon	9	9	15	14	9	10	11	7	10	9	10	7
Texas	10	=7	5	=10	12	14	7	=8	5	6	4	8
New York	*	=15	*	=10	8	8	5	5	8	7	11	9
Washington	8	12	8	6	5	9	10	11	6	=10	=6	10
Tennessee	5	6	13	15	10	7	*	10	11	=10	9	11
New Jersey	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	12
Nevada	*	*	*	*	*	*	12	*	*	*	*	13
Virginia	14	11	=9	=8	=14	=12	9	12	12	=10	*	=14
Montana	*	*	7	=10	11	11	13	15	15	*	15	=14
= Tied for that position * Not in top 15.

NEW OR RETURNING TO TOP 15 THIS YEAR

New Jersey (12); Nevada (13); Virginia (=14)

Dropped Out of Top 15 This Year

South Carolina (was =12); Massachusetts (was =12); Georgia (was 14)

TABLE 2 TOP FIVE STATES – BY AGE AND GENDER "If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in?"
Base: All U.S. adults
	Generation				Gender
Rank	Echo Boomers (18 to 33)	Gen X (34 to 45)	Baby Boomers (46 to 64)	Matures (65+)	Men	Women
1	California	California	Hawaii	Hawaii	California	California
2	New York	Florida	Florida	Colorado	Hawaii	Hawaii
3	New Jersey	Texas	California	Florida	Florida	Florida
4	Colorado	Hawaii	Arizona	North Carolina	Texas	Colorado
5	Florida	Oregon	North Carolina	Oregon & California	New Jersey	North Carolina

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 14 to 20, 2010 among 2,620 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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The Harris Poll® #122, October 19, 2010

By Humphrey Taylor, Chairman, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.