GILLETTE, Wyo. — Wyoming ranked as the second-most underrated state in a recent survey.
Discount real estate brokerage Home Bay and moving company Allied Van Lines surveyed 1,000 Americans regarding their preferences on where they live.
Clever Real Estate PR Strategist Nicole Lehman said in an email today that 8.7% of Americans consider the state to be one of the five most desirable states to live in, while 13% said it’s one of the least desirable states. The survey showed that 14.6% say Wyoming is one of the five most underrated states and 8.7% say it’s one of the most overrated.
The survey was conducted July 16 and 17. Home Bay published results Aug. 28.
Only Colorado beat Wyoming in the ranking of the most underrated state, the report on the survey said. Tennessee was third.
“Boomers prefer Big Sky country, selecting Wyoming as the most underrated state and Montana as the third-most underrated,” the report said. “With more than 1 in 3 boomers (36%) saying crowds make a place overrated, it’s no surprise these sparsely populated states are favorites of this generation.”
Still, Wyoming was only the 20th most desirable state to live in and the 10th least desirable state to live in. It was the 21st most overrated state.
Nearly half of respondents said the most desirable places have low crime rates, according to the report. Forty-three percent said the top places have affordable homes.
While California beat Florida this year for the best state to live in, California was also the most overrated. Roughly one-third of Millennials and Gen Z members rank California within their top five most desirable states. Thirty-one percent of these generations said California is one of the best places to live. Nineteen percent said it’s the worst place to live.
While two-thirds of respondents said they like where they live, 94% could be convinced to move. Forty-two percent said they can’t afford to move. About two-thirds of respondents, and 70% of Millennials and Gen Z members, would relocate to a city or state that paid them to move there. Nearly half of people would move to a different city or state to pursue a lower cost of living or better quality of life.
From January through June, Chicago, which was the fourth-most overrated city to live in, had the most outbound moves of any city. Chicago residents’ top destinations were Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; and Tampa, Florida. Phoenix, Arizona, had the most inbound moves.
