Overview
- A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of 500 voters found roughly one in four have seriously considered leaving Massachusetts and another 28% have thought about it at times, meaning about half have at least sometimes weighed moving.
- Poll respondents who considered leaving most often cited the high cost of living, with about 40% pointing to affordability and 18% naming state taxes as their primary concern.
- Lower-income households reported much greater job insecurity and were more likely to have seriously considered leaving, a gap the poll director described as evidence of a K-shaped economy.
- Support for a business-backed ballot question to cut the state income tax is strong in the poll at roughly 65–66% even as lawmakers warn passage could force deep cuts to programs and services.
- Fewer than 10% of respondents said the 2023 tax-relief package delivering roughly $1 billion in credits and a capital-gains cut had helped them, while a majority said they could not tell if it made a difference, underscoring why many voters still feel financial strain.