South Dakota and other Great Plains states have long battled a reputation of decline. Well, tack this to the bulletin board: A United Van Lines survey placed South Dakota as one of the biggest winners in net migration in the country.
The survey, which tracked more than 212,000 household moves nationwide in 2007, found that 57.4 percent of South Dakota shipments were inbound, and only 42.6 percent were outbound. The state was one of only two states to make the top 10 list for net inbound shipments among Great Plains or Midwest states (Wyoming was the other). On the flip side, North Dakota, Illinois and Michigan made the top 10 list for highest outbound shipments. Minnesota and Montana also saw (more modest) net inbound shipments; Wisconsin experienced net outbound.
—Ronald A. Wirtz
