For the fourth year in a row, Illinois has achieved the infamous honor of topping the list of states taxpayers are fleeing to escape high taxes, crime and a soft economy, according to a report by moving company Allied Van Lines.

Since 2019, Illinois has consistently seen more taxpayers move away from the Prairie State than move there, beating every other state for that distinction, according to Allied’s latest U.S. Migration report.

Over the past four years, more than 65% of all interstate moves were made by Illinois residents leaving the state compared to less than 35% of moves by people taking up residence there.

California, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania round out the list of top five 2022 outbound states. All of the top outbound states have been at the top of Allied's outbound list since 2017, except New Jersey, which began seeing record outflows in 2019.

"Those who could afford to relocate moved South and settled along the Sunbelt, which offered stronger economic opportunities and a lower cost of living than the West Coast or Northeast," the report said.

Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are the top five states for inbound taxpayers, Allied’s data shows.

"Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois are not expensive states, but have experienced slow job growth compared to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida," Allied said in its report, which ranks Florida as the No. 6 state for inbound moves.

The most moved-to states in 2022 “were both affordable and offered better financial security, which explains why states like California lost residents to Texas and Arizona,” Allied said. “Even though California’s GDP rose eight percent (making it one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, behind only Hawaii and Nevada), its cost of living was extremely high (third behind only Hawaii and Alaska) and its average weekly wages fell by 0.6 percent over the course of the year,” the firm continued.

In contrast, wages rose 6.4 % in Texas and its cost of living “is one of the lowest in the country. The same can’t be said for Arizona. Its prices rose in 2022, mostly due to increased demand for housing. Nonetheless, Arizona’s cost-of-living is still nowhere near as high as California’s cost-of-living and its wages grew 5.8% over the same period.”

Few major metropolitan areas saw significant population growth in 2022 as more Americans moved to the suburbs over cost-of-living concerns, Allied reported. But “the surge in demand caused housing prices to rise in the most moved to cities and states, which may make them less attractive next year,” the company said.

The top five inbound cities were Tucson, Ariz., Sarasota, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tenn., Allied reported.

While New York City tops the list of cities with outbound moves, three of the top five slots for top outbound cities are located in California, with Anaheim as No. 2 followed by San Diego in third and Riverside in the fifth slot.