A new report says an influx of new Granite Staters is coming primarily from neighboring Massachusetts, and most of them are younger, part of Gen Z, the cohort of people born roughly between 1997 and 2012.

But another report says the newbies, like already established residents here, face affordability challenges when it comes to housing and child care.

An analysis by StorageCafe of U.S. Census Bureau state-to-state migration data in 2024 shows Massachusetts sent 16,944 people to New Hampshire, outpacing other New England state — 10,977 to Rhode Island and 6,828 to Maine in 2024. StorageCafe is a nationwide online marketplace and search engine that helps users find and rent self-storage units.

Its June 9 report says the new Granite Staters skew young with Gen Z, making up 31% of the inflows, making it the leading cohort above millennials, Gen X, baby boomers, and the Silent Generation.

And they accept that affordability is relative. While there are certainly affordability challenges in New Hampshire, they believe it is less of a challenge than in Massachusetts, where the median priced single-family home is $668,000, compared to $580,000 in New Hampshire.

According to StorageCafe, New Hampshire converts 56.5% of newcomers into homeowners within year one. Maine converts 56%. Both rank among the highest first-year homeownership rates in the country. Rhode Island, more rent-first overall, still saw 41% of arrivals buy within the first year.

“These aren’t reluctant movers, they’re prepared buyers,” said Emilia Man, senior research analyst at StorageCafe. “Years of saving against Massachusetts prices means that when they land somewhere 25% to 44% cheaper, the math for buying works immediately. The first-year ownership rates in New Hampshire and Maine reflect that.”

The StorageCafe analysis notes that interstate migration nationally slowed sharply in 2024 to 2.1% of the U.S. population, compared to 2.3% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2022.

But, for the first time on record, Gen Z is America’s most mobile generation, accounting for nearly one in three interstate moves. In 2024, 2.2 million young adults moved to a different state overtaking millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) after years of millennial dominance and a near tie between the two generations in 2023, said the report.

According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI), New Hampshire relies more on interstate movement to grow its population compared to most other states. The majority — about 60% — of the Granite State’s 1.42 million people are not native born.

About one-third (33.0%) were born elsewhere in New England, including about 25.4% who were born in Massachusetts. Approximately 19.7% were born in states outside of the New England region, while 6.8% of residents were born outside of the United States.

A May 27 brief written by Jessica Williams, a senior policy analyst at NHFPI, says New Hampshire has long relied on interstate movement to grow its population and support the workforce.

“Based on the recent data, younger working-age adults have led New Hampshire’s recent net population gains, which could help offset the state’s aging population and ongoing population decline due to more deaths than births within the state,” she said in her brief.

However, she added, “ongoing affordability challenges may hinder people’s ability to move to, and remain in, the Granite State. Housing constraints, child care access, and educational and workforce opportunities continue to influence interstate movement decisions, particularly among younger adults and families.”

Williams took a look at U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data on tax filers that move between states, counties, and other countries, along with other data from other sources, such as the University of New Hampshire survey center.

Here is some of what else she found:

• Tax filers ages 26 to 44 represented 57% of NH’s net gains from interstate movement from 2022 to 2023. However, the state experienced a net loss of nearly 1,000 tax filers under age 26, likely, said NHFPI, due to steep in-state higher education costs;
• New Hampshire gained a net 4,009 tax filers from Massachusetts, while also experiencing net gains from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and California. At the same time, New Hampshire on net lost residents to Maine, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina;
• Nearly 60% of New Hampshire residents were born outside the state, including about one-quarter who were born in Massachusetts. Only four states had a smaller share of residents born within their own state than New Hampshire;
• International migration into New Hampshire remains relatively small compared to domestic interstate movement. However, the state saw a net loss of 122 tax filers to other countries, a sharp increase in the number of Granite Staters moving abroad compared to pre-pandemic years;
• Survey data showed younger adults are drawn to New Hampshire for employment opportunities, family ties, outdoor recreation, the state’s natural environment, and a sense of safety;
• Survey data also showed many cited housing and child care costs, health care access, and career opportunities as concerns shaping whether they stay long term.

What follows are recommendations from Williams to state policymakers:

• Increase housing construction, through infrastructure investments or regulatory and zoning changes, which may help increase the availability of homes on the market and in turn bring down costs. Williams said this should include not only the availability of housing units, but the variety of housing types available as well, which could provide new homebuyers with options to meet their differing housing and financial needs;
• Support for current homeowners or renters, such as mortgage or rental assistance or property tax relief, could also help families remain in their homes and afford other essential costs;
• Make additional investment and support for assistance programs, such as the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program that provides financial support for eligible families to help afford child care. She noted this could help keep young parents in the workforce and reduce financial strain on household budgets;
• Williams noted that New Hampshire provided the smallest amount of state and local funding for public higher education of any state in the nation during fiscal year 2024. Students, therefore, may seek more affordable options in other states and not return. She suggested increased support for higher education, such as expanded scholarships for in-state students and more investments in internship-to-career pathways, which, she said, could help encourage more young adults to remain in New Hampshire upon graduation.

• A corrections officer was fired and two were suspended following an inmate’s murder at Burlington County Jail.
• The incident was one of 817 major disciplinary actions against New Jersey law enforcement officers detailed in a new report.
• The report also noted terminations of other South Jersey corrections officers for offenses including excessive force and sexual misconduct.

One corrections officer was fired and two were suspended after an inmate was slain at Burlington County Jail in November 2024, according to a just-released report.

The fired officer, Nicholas Morton, failed to conduct required security tours during the hours of the alleged murder. He also didn’t tell his superiors that the attacker and his victim had previously asked to be placed in different cells, said the June 12 report from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

This incident was just one of 817 major disciplinary actions against 654 law enforcement officers, the agency says, detailing these findings in their 560-page report.

Former officer sentenced: Swedesboro man smuggled contraband into jail

It notes the terminations or other departures of at least a dozen corrections officers at South Jersey lockups.

That includes two officers accused of using excessive force on inmates in Camden County Jail, two accused of having sexual relationships with girls at a state juvenile facility and a prison officer who exposed himself for a selfie while on duty.

In the Burlington County case, Rondale Holloman, now 39, allegedly murdered his 74-year-old cellmate, Kenneth Bulle, in November 2024.

Hollomon told investigators that he punched Bulle, then strangled him with a T-shirt for approximately eight minutes. He said Bulle crawled back into his bed and breathed “very heavily” until he died, according to a probable cause statement.

Holloman said he waited “a few hours” before telling corrections officers about the attack at approximately 2:30 a.m. Nov. 15.

An internal investigation found that Morton had failed to conduct at least two security tours at half-hour intervals during his shift from Nov. 14 into Nov. 15.

“It was also discovered that Officer Morton neglected to inform his immediate supervisors that both inmates made a request to move out of the cell away from each other,” the report says.

Two other corrections officers, Sgt. Terrance Benson and Lieutenant Jonathan Carroll, received 15-day suspensions.

Benson, the shift sergeant at the time of Bulle’s death, “neglected to conduct a full and complete security tour of the facility,” the report states.

Carroll, the shift commander, “neglected to correct his subordinates, who did not call the code for the incident,” it says. That failure “delayed the custody and medical staff from responding to the scene with the proper equipment.”

Carroll also did not make “immediate corrective action on several entries in logbook that were made by his supervisors and officers on duty,” the report adds.

Holloman is currently awaiting trial on a murder charge. The charge is an allegation, and he has not been convicted in the case.

Holloman and Bulle were being held on charges stemming from violent attacks.

Bulle, a Mount Holly resident, allegedly stabbed a sleeping woman several times with a kitchen knife Oct. 1, 2024.

Holloman, a Burlington Township resident, was in jail for allegedly slamming a woman to the ground, then punching and kicking her during a domestic incident in September 2024.

Here are some other notable South Jersey incidents involving corrections facilities:

Camden County Jail

• Two officers were fired for using excessive force. The report says Tee Lormia struck an inmate in the head with a roundhouse kick, while Nicholas Taylor lifted an inmate from behind and slammed him to the ground. A third officer, Yamalis Diaz, was fired after pleading guilty to shoplifting.