Americans have gone through a period of extraordinary mobility — and the top city Americans are moving to is Sarasota, Florida.
The high costs of living and real estate prices in major coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco are part of the reason Americans have been moving. Low mortgage rates have also made homes more affordable, and the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed people who work from home to relocate from cities where their companies have offices to almost anywhere in the country. (These are the best cities to live and work from home in 2021.)
One byproduct of this elevated mobility is that home prices in some modest-sized (by population) states and cities have soared. People have crowded into Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee, and South Carolina, along with some of the cities within their borders. Census data for 2021 will likely show higher population growth in these states and cities than the U.S. average.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed a study by large moving company Mayflower titled “Finding Home.” Mayflower’s data from locations where the company supported 800 or more total moves revealed the locations — states and cities — with the most inbound moves between July 2019 and July 2021.
The states with the most inbound moves were Idaho, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.
In addition to the migration data, a survey that claims to reflect the U.S. population by gender, generation, and census by region was conducted between Sept. 13 and Sept. 23, 2021.
The survey revealed that “nearly three-fourths of Americans (74%) feel they have a hometown.” The meaning of “hometown,” however, is not the same among those surveyed: “58% think of their hometown as the place they come from, while 42% think of their hometown as the place they’re currently living.”
Regardless of whether or not people were moving to their new hometown or away from it, the city with the most inbound moves was Sarasota, Florida, where 76.9% of all moves were inbound. It was followed by Wilmington, North Carolina; Fort Myers, Florida; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Boise, Idaho. Find out if these cities are among the best cities to live.
Here are the top 25 cities where people are moving
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25. Phoenix, AZ
> Pct. moving inbound: 58.1%
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24. Seattle, WA
> Pct. moving inbound: 58.2%
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23. Orlando, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 58.4%
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22. Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 59.0%
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21. Jacksonville, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 59.3%
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20. Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA
> Pct. moving inbound: 59.5%
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19. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
> Pct. moving inbound: 59.7%
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18. Charleston, DC
> Pct. moving inbound: 60.4%
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17. Charlotte-Gastonia, NC-SC
> Pct. moving inbound: 61.1%
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16. Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 61.6%
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15. Boulder-Longmont, CO
> Pct. moving inbound: 61.7%
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14. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
> Pct. moving inbound: 62.8%
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13. Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 63.0%
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12. Austin-San Marcos, TX
> Pct. moving inbound: 63.4%
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11. Naples, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 64.2%
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10. West Palm Beach, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 64.7%
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9. Nashville, TN
> Pct. moving inbound: 65.1%
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8. Knoxville, TN
> Pct. moving inbound: 66.7%
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7. Daytona Beach, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 66.8%
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6. Huntsville, AL
> Pct. moving inbound: 68.0%
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5. Boise, ID
> Pct. moving inbound: 69.8%
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4. Santa Fe, NM
> Pct. moving inbound: 73.1%
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3. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL
> Pct. moving inbound: 75.1%
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2. Wilmington, NC
> Pct. moving inbound: 75.9%
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