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FLORIDA STILL TOP CHOICE OF NEW YORKERS LEAVING NORTHEAST

Florida remains the top choice of New Yorkers relocating out of the Northeast, ahead of North Carolina, California, Virginia and Georgia.

Florida still top choice of New Yorkers leaving Northeast

Prudential Florida Realty

Florida still top choice of New Yorkers leaving Northeast

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Writer

Thursday, February 19, 2009

ORLANDO � Facts gleaned from an Associated Press study of new Florida driver's license applications submitted in 2008:

� Florida remains the top choice of New Yorkers relocating out of the Northeast, ahead of North Carolina, California, Virginia and Georgia, even though that number has dropped by almost 30 percent over five years.

� Last year, the top states from which applicants for Florida drivers licenses originated were New York (42,000), Georgia (21,000), New Jersey (20,000), Michigan (19,000) and Pennsylvania (17,500). In 2003, the top five states were New York (76,000), New Jersey (31,000), Georgia (29,000), Ohio (24,500) and Pennsylvania (24,200).

� The states that produced the fewest Florida transplants last year, as well as five years ago, were two of the least populated states: North Dakota and Wyoming.

� Considered as a group, the largest number of new applicants were foreigners last year, as in 2003. Coming from more than 200 countries, they made up almost 70,000 applicants last year and more than 83,000 applicants in 2003.

� The average age of the new applicant last year was 42, as it was in 2003, indicating that people moving to Florida skewed toward a working age population rather than retirees.

The AP analysis ignored net migration, which also would have included outbound moves of Floridians to other states. Because it used driver's licenses, the analysis only considered new residents over age 16.

Breakdown of newly minted Floridians, by region

Here is a breakdown of newcomers applying for Florida driver's licenses, from regions around the United States and foreign countries, in 2008 compared to five years ago:

� 80,000 applicants from the Mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania last year, a 40 percent decline from 2003. Palm Beach County, Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, and Miami-Dade County were the top destinations for Mid-Atlantic natives in 2008. In 2003, they were Palm Beach and Broward counties, as well as Orange County, home to Orlando.

� 78,000 applicants last year from the Midwestern and Plains states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. That's a 27 percent decline from 2003. The top three destinations for Midwesterners in 2008 were Lee County, home to Fort Myers, Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, and Hillsborough County, home to Tampa. They were the same in 2003 when Pinellas County was in the top spot.

� 70,000 transplants from more than 200 foreign countries applied for driver's licenses last year, a 16 percent decline from 2003. The top destinations in 2008 were Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties, as they were in 2003.

� 63,500 applicants from the South Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the District of Columbia, a 27 percent decline from 2003. For South Atlantic transplants, Duval County, home to Jacksonville, and Hillsborough and Broward counties were the top destinations in 2008 as they were in 2003.

� 45,500 drivers from the southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas applied for Florida driver's licenses last year, a 29 percent decline from 2003. The top destinations of transplants from these southern states were Hillsborough, Duval and Broward counties. In 2003, Orange County beat out Broward County for the third spot.

� 32,000 applicants came from the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, a 35 percent decline from 2003. The top destinations for New Englanders last year were Palm Beach, Broward and Lee counties, compared to Palm Beach, Broward and Pinellas counties in 2003.

� 23,000 applicants came from the Pacific states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington last year, a decline of a third from 2003. The top destinations in 2008 were Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties. In 2003, they were Broward, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties.

� 15,000 applicants from the Western states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, a decline of 27 percent from 2003. The top destinations of residents from Western states in 2008 were Hillsborough, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. In 2003, the top two spots were the same but Pinellas County took the No. 3 spot.

Source: AP analysis of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data Rei Mesa, CRS, CRB Florida Real Estate Services Division President Prudential Florida Realty President, C.O.O.
reimesa@prudentialfloridarealty.com
1580 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway, Suite 400 Sunrise, FL 33323
(954) 693-0127

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