The 2021-2022
HireAHelper US Migration Report
Are We Moving Past The Pandemic?
After a year of high hopes and serious disappointments, with pandemic news alternating betweeen two steps forward and one step back, how did 2021's socio-economic trends ultimately impact how people moved?
2020 will go down as the year of the pandemic, officially. But if you examine moving patterns throughout 2021, it's difficult to claim America fully moved on from the ongoing global health crisis – despite a nation primed for a return to normal at the beginning of the year.
Key Moving Trends in 2021
#1 Moved in City:
#1 Moved in State:
Top Moved in States:
#1 Moved out City:
Top Moved out States
Early optimism of a tide-turning vaccine rollout slowly dissipated after the delta and omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus plagued the country during the second half of 2021, and beyond.
While jobs were experiencing a slow but steady return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, both employers and employees struggled to find a consistent approach to remote work. All the while, thousands of Americans outright quit their jobs in the trend dubbed "The Great Resignation," with sectors like retail and transportation among the most impacted.
Alternatively, home prices in 2021 hit 20% growth — a historic surge — while the stock market S&P 500, at the time of publication, was up a hefty 22% since the beginning of 2021.
Lockdowns, the employment rate, the housing market and broad economic health all typically factor into moving patterns, yet all were in unique conflict with one another throughout much of 2021.
This all begs the question: among the chaos, did moving patterns return to normal last year?
Armed with our data from over 90,000 moves, two customer surveys, and statistics from the ever-reliable U.S. Census Bureau, we break it all down to find out how people moved in 2021.
Fewer, but Farther: How Many Americans Moved in 2021?
In 2021, as many as 26.4 million people in the U.S. moved… but that's only 8% of the population. Based on the data out of the U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 had the lowest percentage of people moving in one year ever recorded.
The pandemic may have had something to do with this, but in fact both the volume and percentage of Americans who move every year have been falling for decades.
But while the overall number of moves is in decline, the number of people moving long distances is actually rising.
The percentage of Americans who moved to a different county (40%) or to a different state (17%) in 2021 are both the highest they've been since the early 2000s.
...half of the top 10 cities with the biggest net gains in 2021 are in Florida!
Remote Work, Housing Market, Loss of Income: How Did COVID Affect Moving in 2021?
As reported in our mid-year report published in summer of 2021, the data suggest the pandemic continued to alter moving patterns in America last year. In a survey of 2,404 customers, 21% claimed their moves were influenced by COVID in some way during that time frame.
Today, according to our most recent survey of 2,138 customers, the percentage of moves forced by the pandemic has dropped to 17%. This brings the aggregate average of moves affected by COVID to 19% for 2021.
COVID-Specific Findings
1/5 of people moving in 2021 claimed they moved for a COVID-related reason*
37%
remotely
23%
home
12%
home
Covid-related Move Reasons
*Data from customer surveys sampling over 4,500 HireAHelper/Porch Moving Group customers (Aug. 2021, Dec. 2021)
How COVID influenced moving
According to respondents from our customer surveys, the pandemic affected Americans' moves in three major ways.
First, it caused many Americans to start working remotely, which sprung people from their homes. Some 37% of all COVID-affected moves were reportedly by people moving elsewhere due to the fact they were no longer attached to any specific location for work.
Secondly, people took advantage of the pandemic housing market by either selling their home (23%) or buying one (12%), accounting for 36% of all COVID-affected moves.
Thirdly, but perhaps most importantly, there were many reported moves due to pandemic-related financial hardship, as cited by 22% of respondents.
People cite being forced to move after losing their jobs due to things like lay-offs, because of landlords who sold their homes out from under them, or simply to make ends meet.
The much-discussed Great Resignation also left its mark on the moving landscape. Nearly one in five (19%) people who moved due to COVID in late 2021 claimed the pandemic made them reassess their priorities and quit their job.
Lower down the list of COVID-related reasons for moving in 2021 are "moving closer to family" (16%) and leaving areas where people weren't feeling safe due to COVID spread (16%).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the reason behind almost a whopping half (46%) of all moves in America was housing. This includes people buying a home or moving somewhere better and/or cheaper.
Another quarter (25%) of all moves reportedly happened for family reasons, such as getting married or divorced. Work-related reasons, like moving for a new job or to retire accounted for 16% of moves. All other reasons make up the remaining 14%.
These findings are echoed in another independent report carried out by Porch in late 2021. That study, which surveyed homeowners, found their primary reason for moving last year was to upgrade to a larger home (35%). Other top reasons for moving included being closer to family (28%), moving to a safer home (25%), growing family size (22%) and relocating for a new job (18%).
Back to the Natural State: Which States Saw the Greatest Gains in Move-ins during 2021?
In the past few years, Idaho surprisingly dominated the rankings of states with the greatest net gains of people moving in. But not this year.
In 2021, Arkansas saw 44% more people move in than move out — the highest percentage of all states!
Famed for its beautiful lakes, rivers and hot springs, Arkansas (i.e., "The Natural State") is accompanied at the top of the list by South Carolina (+42%), Maine (+34%) and Delaware (+27%) where more people were unloading trucks and PODS in their new homes than any other states. Aforementioned Idaho isn't that far back, sitting in the fifth spot with 22% more people joining than leaving it in 2021.
Meanwhile, Florida continues its recent impressive showings. It's sitting in seventh place this year with a 17% net gain in movers. New Mexico, Alabama and Utah round out the top 10.
A whopping 86% more people moved to NYC than left in 2021!
The other end of the scale shares a lot more in common with recent migration reports. The states that saw more Americans leave than move in are all the usual suspects: New Jersey (-54%), California (-49%) and Illinois (-42%), all of which had many more people leave than move in.
The only noteworthy absence on the list of greatest net losers is New York… more on that later.
Florida Dominates: Which US Cities Had the Most People Move In?
Could it be that after what felt like a long, dark, COVID-ridden winter, Americans decided to pack up and move somewhere sunny?
Because it is rather astonishing that half of the top 10 cities with the biggest net gains in 2021 are in Florida!
Top Growing Cities
Three times more people moved to The Villages, FL (+207%), than left the place, compared to the previous year. For Bradenton, FL (+107%), its ratio of in-to out-moves was 2:1.
Other cities from The Sunshine State that made our top 10 are Fort Myers, FL (+69%), Cape Coral, FL (+59%), and Saint Augustine, FL (+57%).
Several other cities in the top 10 — like Mount Pleasant, SC, Myrtle Beach, SC, and Wilmington, NC, a beautiful city about 200 miles SouthEast of North Carolina's most populous city Charlotte — are also either coastal or very near the coast.
But the biggest story of this year's city rankings is about the largest city of them all; New York City had more people move in than out for the first time in the over half a decade since we began reporting these stats — and not just by a fraction.
A whopping 86% more people moved to NYC than left in 2021!
Whether due to high vaccination rates, people returning after initially hunkering down elsewhere during the beginning of the pandemic, or maybe NYC's economic recovery gaining traction, it's a big moment for The Big Apple… it usually finds itself on the opposite side of the net migration scale.
Top 10
States
- Arkansas
- South Carolina
- Maine
- Delaware
- Idaho
- Tennessee
- Florida
- New Mexico
- Alabama
- Utah
- 44%
- 42%
- 34%
- 27%
- 22%
- 20%
- 17%
- 15%
- 12%
- 7%
- New Jersey
- California
- West Virginia
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Connecticut
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Missouri
- -54%
- -49%
- -45%
- -42%
- -41%
- -40%
- -38%
- -35%
- -33%
- -32%
- Florida
- Texas
- California
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- Colorado
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Virginia
- New York
- 5.8%
- 4.8%
- 3.2%
- 2.8%
- 2.1%
- 1.8%
- 1.8%
- 1.7%
- 1.7%
- 1.7%
- California
- Texas
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Illinois
- Georgia
- Virginia
- Colorado
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- 6.3%
- 5.3%
- 5.0%
- 3.0%
- 3.0%
- 2.3%
- 2.2%
- 2.1%
- 2.1%
- 2.0%
- The Villages, FL
- Bradenton, FL
- New York, NY
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Fort Myers, FL
- Myrtle Beach, SC
- Wilmington, NC
- Cape Coral, FL
- Saint Augustine, FL
- Clarksville, TN
- 206.7%
- 108.6%
- 86.4%
- 71.4%
- 64.9%
- 63.8%
- 59.3%
- 58.6%
- 56.6%
- 47.8%
- San Jose, CA
- Naperville, IL
- Sacramento, CA
- Glendale, AZ
- Fayetteville, NC
- Indianapolis, IN
- Long Beach, CA
- Cleveland, OH
- Hollywood, FL
- Wichita, KS
- -67.6%
- -64.9%
- -63.2%
- -52.8%
- -52.6%
- -51.5%
- -51.3%
- -50.6%
- -50.0%
- -48.6%
Top 10
Cities
Moving data calculated from over 90,000 moves serviced in 2021 via HireAHelper.com and its affiliates contrasted against 2020 data.
Net gains and losses in people moving in/out for both states and cities were calculated as the ratio of:
- # of people moving into the state or city, to
- the # of people moving out of the state or city
- expressed as a percentage (%)
States and cities with fewer than 100 in- or out-moves were excluded from "Net Winners and Losers" calculations.
Which US Cities Had the Most People Move Out?
With New York no longer in the mix, it's San Jose's turn to be the city that the most people left versus moved into (-68%). Two more California cities, Sacramento (-63%) and Long Beach (-51%), are also among the 10 cities with the greatest net losses.
Wichita, KS (-49%), is on the greatest population loss list for the second year in a row. This time its Midwestern companions are Naperville, IL (-65%), and Cleveland, OH (-51%).
Wondering what city was the biggest draw for movers in your state? Check our interactive table below to find your city.
Outpacing the Pandemic: When Did Americans Move the Most During 2021?
There may have been fewer Americans who decided to move in 2021 than in years prior, but those that did move certainly didn't seem to mind the pandemic.
Unlike in 2020 when much of America's moving activity virtually ceased for a short while, the trajectory of moves in 2021 showed no signs of anomaly.
The data make it appear as though all seasonal moving patterns were normal again as schedules for movers in Dallas, Chicago movers, and movers across the country began filling up once again... or it may just be that Americans learned to live with the pandemic and were no longer willing to let it undermine their plans. (Or perhaps there's no stopping the economy, despite people's individual health interests.)
Farther and Smaller Still: What Was the Average Move Size and Distance Traveled in 2021?
In last year's report, we highlighted that, on average, people moved farther distances during 2020 than is typical.
Last year's average distance was even longer: 51.1 miles. West Virginia, Oregon and Alabama were the states with the longest moves, while moves were geographically shortest in Nebraska, New York and Kansas.
;
Moves also continued the trend of being on the smaller side. In 2021, the average move was 1,572 square feet, which is smaller than 2020's estimate of 1,595 square feet, and appreciably smaller than the pre-pandemic peak of 1,877 square feet.
Sources and Methodology
HireAHelper's 2021-22 Migration Study analyzed over 90,000 local and long-distance moves in the U.S. that were booked in 2021 through HireAHelper.com and our partner sites and affiliates, such as SimpleMovingLabor and MovingPlace.
Additional data sources include:
- Migration/Geographic Mobility Data series by the U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and its Annual Social and Economic Supplements for 2021
- HireAHelper customer surveys carried out in August 2021 (2,404 respondents) and December 2021 (2,138 respondents)
Seven states (Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming) were excluded in part, due to a lack of sufficiently representative data.
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic was taken from its official declaration as a pandemic on March 11th, 2020.
Net gains and losses in people moving in/out for both states and cities were calculated as the ratio of:
- # of people moving into the state or city, to
- the # of people moving out of the state or city
- expressed as a percentage (%)
States and cities with fewer than 100 in- or out-moves were excluded from the "Net Winners and Losers" calculation.
Artwork by Kezia Hulse.