Where States Are People Moving To? Relocation Trends In 2018

The reasons people move to a new state, or even a new home for that matter, vary widely depending on a number of factors. Typically in the moving industry, the reasons are boiled down to a few basic factors: affordability, job opportunities, family reasons, and to upgrade. Of course, the decision to move to a new city, county, or state depends on many things and these types of analysis are an oversimplification, but they do help to fill out the picture of why people move where they do.

As for trends, there are some definite similarities in the places people moved in 2018. These are the top five states that saw the highest level of incoming residents:

• Idaho
• Nevada
• Arizona
• Oregon
• Montana

It varies by location and time of year, but these are mostly warm weather states compared to other parts of the country and all of them can be found in the western or midwestern part of the U.S. (South Dakota and Colorado, both not quite so warm, also found a home in the top ten relocation destinations for 2018).

California is conspicuously missing from the list, which doesn’t come as a huge surprise. It’s a state where you will get nearly year round sunshine in most areas, but the taxes and cost of living are comparatively high when viewed alongside other options. That might explain why the three neighboring states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona made the list when California didn’t. They offer similar weather, are typically less crowded, and the cost of living (and buying a home) is typically much lower.

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That’s not to say that they’re aren’t states on the other side of the Mississippi River that attract residents as well. North Carolina, Vermont, and Florida also made the top ten. As for reasons for moving, each state in the top five for inbound moves was due to either work (Oregon, Nevada, and Montana) or retirement (Idaho and Arizona).

As with previous years, those who live in one bedroom residences tend to be the most likely to move, about ten percent higher than people living in two and three bedroom house or apartments.

Summer months continue to be the most popular time to move with June, July, and August being the most popular by a fairly wide margin. As you might expect, the least common time to move is during December and January when both weather and the holidays can be a factor in the timing.

Home Moving Resources

U.S. State Profiles – A tremendous resource for anyone looking to relocate to another state, this website offers information like state history, census data, economic information, weather and most populated areas.

What State Should I Live In? – If you have plans to move to another state, but aren’t sure which one best suits you, this simple 12 question “quiz” can help you determine where you fit best.