For much of Michigan’s history, the state has been a destination. In the 2000s, though, some 570,000 residents left for other states. So the decline in the last couple years pales compared to the 2000s or the losses during the early 1980s. “Michigan is sustaining net out-migration probably due to young people leaving the state for opportunities elsewhere but it doesn’t look as dire as MIchigan’s situation a decade ago, or other states today,” said William Frey, a research professor with the Population Studies Center and Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution.

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