Virginia is not doing a great job of attracting new people. In fact, data from state agencies and the US Postal Service show Virginia is losing more people than it's gaining.
"We've had some of the largest numbers of people leaving Northern Virginia on record," says Hamilton Lombard at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
He says outmigration trends that are happening in Northern Virginia and to a lesser extent in Hampton Roads are also happening in urban areasall over the country.
"With the shift to remote work and record high housing prices, you are seeing a lot of people looking for places where they can get more for their money, and generally speaking when look at Virginia it doesn't compete well when you are looking at housing costs."
Lombard says one of the problems is the sluggish pace of home construction in Virginia, which is clearly not keeping pace with demand and creating sticker shock.
"When you look at who's leaving, it's not evenly distributed. It seems to be disproportionately young adults and families."
For now, he says, those families are heading to places like Raleigh, Charlotte or Jacksonville.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
