MASSACHUSETTS - For many, the reasoning for moving out of Massachusetts can be summarized with just one word: affordability. The top two destinations are Florida and New Hampshire.

"A majority of residents have gone to New Hampshire," said Christopher Anderson, President of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and Co-Organizer of the Mass Opportunity Alliance. "Obviously, it's closer. But it's a business-friendly and increasingly high quality of life venue that's not too far from here.

The cost of living was to blame for two-thirds of residents who were surveyed by the Mass Opportunity Alliance. The nonprofit talking to roughly 500 former Baystaters.

Other leading causes included tax policy and housing, which also tie back into the state's affordability.

"If you're a business trying to retain employees here and they can't buy a house," said Anderson. "Or, younger workers find it very expensive to rent an apartment. That becomes really important."

Anderson says what's really concerning is how only 22% of those surveyed are retired, meaning people earning their living in Massachusetts are taking their money elsewhere.

Addressing affordability was among the key points in Governor Maura Healey's State of the Commonwealth speech earlier this year, pointing to legislation like the Affordable Homes Act as one of many hopeful antidotes to prices.

"People want life to be more affordable so we delivered the first tax cut in over 20 years," Healey said during the January speech. "We gave seniors an extra thousand dollars back. We're giving families an extra $400 back for every child, and we now have the most generous tax credit in the entire country."

The survey comes after moving company U-Haul listed Massachusetts as the state with the second worst growth rate in the country with a departure percentage of 52%. Anderson says the council will now be taking their concerns to beacon hill in an effort to reverse what's been going on.

"...and really return to what we had built for the last 10 or 15 years as a state with a great population, stable taxes generating multi-billion dollar state surpluses every year without raising taxes," he said.