This from the National Catholic Register caught our eye:

The new analysis by researchers at the Institute for Family Studies, examines the states that are attracting and losing families.  It finds that “families are leaving many of the most progressive U.S. states and heading for states that are considered more conservative or politically diverse.”  This confirms our Unleash Prosperity analysis over the years, but also shows that children are becoming more scarce in “progressive” states.

Blue states that voted for Democratic presidential candidates in both 2016 and 2020 lost some 200,000 families with children in 2021 and 2022. In the chart below, the states shaded dark green are gaining families, and the bright yellow states are losing families.

The study also documents that the types of social programs devised by the left to attract and retain families aren’t working.

“Parents are not generally moving towards states with the preferred family policies of progressives. They are moving out of these states, including Democratic states, like New York, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon, all well known for their liberal family policies,” researchers Lyman Stone and Brad Wilcox wrote.

Child credits and mandatory family leave policies aren’t important to parents.

What IS important to parents? Low crime states, low cost of living, and affordable housing.

The blue states that have lost the most families include California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon.

The authors conclude: “No amount of tax credits will ever be more valuable to a family than safe streets and decent housing for middle-class earners. Parental leave will never outweigh a good job market.”