Recession fuels a sunny exodus

The Sunshine State isn't so sunny — at least when it comes to migration data from United Van Lines, one of the biggest moving companies in the country.

The moving giant recently released its mid-year migration data for 2009. The figures, which the company releases twice a year, highlight the inbound and outbound moving shipments from every state.

Florida was the only state in the Southeast that showed more people leaving than entering it, with a 48.8% inbound rate and 51.2% outbound. In contrast, Alabama Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina all showed relatively high ratios of incoming population.

Not surprisingly, given the recession, the Midwest led the country in outbound moving shipments. Michigan, for instance, had a staggering 70% of its moves with United Van Lines going out of state.

Finally, in the other no surprise category of the United report, Washington D.C. continued to swell, with 10% more moving shipments coming in than going out. With a 63.3% inbound number, the nation's capital is more than three percentage points ahead of any state.

So much for smaller government.