For the first time in a decade, the total number of Americans who moved grew from one year to the next. We would have predicted the opposite, given everything that happened in 2022.
In other words, you can usually predict moving patterns based on several economic factors … and the American economy wasn't exactly booming last year.
During the spring of 2022, as soon as pandemic restrictions began to ease following a holiday surge in COVID cases, inflation began to take hold. It hit a record high of 9% during the summer months, and at the same time, rent prices were spiking almost everywhere.
Then, the home market began to cool down when mortgage interest rates increased to 6%. This severely hurt home sales already in free fall for most of the year.
Key Moving Trends In
2022
#1 Moved-in City:
The Villages, FL
348%
#1 Moved-in State:
Vermont
138%
Top Moved-in States:
Florida
6.2%
5.2% Texas
3.6% California
#1 Moved-out City:
San Jose, CA
-74%
Top Moved-out States:
1. New Jersey
-41%
2. California
-39%
Key Stats:
- 4% more people moved during 2022 in the U.S. compared to 2021, the first time in a decade moving volume has grown year-over-year
- Vermont had the greatest growth of move-ins by ratio of all 50 states (+138%)
- New Jersey saw 41.2% more people leave the state versus move in
- The Villages, FL topped city growth by ratio for the second year in a row (+348%)
Luckily, unemployment numbers had largely returned to pre-pandemic normalcy. But even when taking into consideration the recovery of the U.S. unemployment rate — a figure historically correlated to people staying put whenever it's high, and which was cut in more than half from its 2020 peak — remote work has changed everything. People working from their living rooms is firmly established as the norm in this post-pandemic job market, as the mass return to the office many envisioned for 2022 didn't quite go to plan.
Yet despite all of that, more Americans moved in 2022 than in any year since 2012.
So what caused all this moving around? To make sense of it all, we analyzed data from over 107,000 moves, statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, and findings from our annual customer survey to understand where, how and why Americans moved in 2022.
How Many Americans Moved in 2022?
According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, 27.3 million Americans (8.6% of the population) moved in 2022, which is roughly 4% more than moved in 2021.
Expressed as a percentage of the U.S. population, 2022 marks the first year since 2012 that the number of people who moved grew year-over-year!
That wasn't the only growth either; on average, people moved longer distances in 2022 too.
Historically, moves in the United States are overwhelmingly local moves. Based on Historical Migration statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly two-thirds (64%) of all changes of address since 2000 featured an origin and destination that were both within the same county.
We saw that trend beginning to slide in 2020. This year, only 59% of all moves stayed within their same county — that's the lowest share since 2000.
In fact, both "Moves to a different county within the same state" (24%) and "Moves crossing state lines" (17%) were at their highest levels since the start of the millennium.
And by the way, moves abroad don't get tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, but they too were up ~3%, according to a recent study. Adding to that wanderlust, 10% of HireAHelper customers surveyed said they either left, or "Seriously considered" leaving the United States in 2022.
Why Are People Moving? Foreclosures & Change in Marital Status Top Growing Reasons in 2022
Based on the statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, most of the common reasons for moving in 2022 weren't all that different from a typical year. Once again, "New and better housing" (14%), "Establishing own household" (11%), and "New job or transfer" (9.2%), were some of the most common stated reasons for moving last year.
What's different this year, however, is that some reasons for moving that are typically less common have dramatically spiked.
Shocking in its volume, the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey reports the largest increase in the given reason for moving was "Foreclosure or eviction"!
Over 56% more Americans moved due to foreclosure or eviction this year compared to 2021. This data mirrors a worrying recent trend in home foreclosures, and likely played a large part in the unexpected increase of moves this year.
Moving for love?
"Change in marital status" was another category of moves with a dramatic increase in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data.
Compared to 2021, as many as 30% more people moved in 2022 as a result of getting married or divorced. (Corroborating with reports of a recent "wedding boom," 62% of respondents in our customer survey listed themselves as married.)
Whether this was impacted by COVID-delayed weddings and/or inevitable quarantine-break-ups we can't say for certain. However you slice it, Cupid was awfully busy this year.
Customer Survey: Motivations for Moving Among HireAHelper Customers
In a survey of HireAHelper customers, housing- and job-related reasons were among the most common reasons for moving. This is consistent with U.S. Census data. About 19% cited moving after "Buying a home," while 14% said they moved due to "A new job".
What's the most common reason cited for moving in 2022? That would be "Moving to be closer to family members" (29%).
No moving regrets?
Three out of four people (76%) claimed they were happier in their new location, with many citing "Better neighborhoods," "Lower cost of living," and "Being closer to family" as the underlying factors for making the right call.
Echoing this year's high inflation and cost of living increase, some 15% of respondents said they moved for "More affordable rent" (5%), or to move somewhere with a "Lower cost of living" (10%).
A somewhat surprising amount of people also cited "Climate change" as their reason for moving! Roughly 5% of all survey respondents suggested they may have been displaced due to harsh changes in their climate.
Also interesting is that 5% of respondents claimed they moved to be in a location with political leanings more similar to their own!
Is COVID Still Affecting Moves?
Despite being perceived as non-factor by many, the pandemic still affected about 8% of moves in 2022, according to a HireAHelper customer survey. That's very notable, but a far cry (and a happy one, at that) from the 25% of moves that were affected by it two years ago.
Even with a falling percentage, early 2022 was still very much impacted by COVID in general, as both cases and hospitalizations were at their all-time highs in January 2022. Yet as vaccination rates continued to rise, states began to open up later in the year, most dropping their mask mandates by around March.
In addition to the change in the total number of moves impacted, the stated reasons for how COVID impacted moves shifted, too.
In 2020, COVID was reportedly forcing people to move out of living arrangements they could no longer afford, shelter in place to avoid infection, as well as move in order to take care of their families. By mid-2021, the top reasons for COVID-impacted moves were reasons related to remote work and selling and buying homes in advantageous market conditions.
2022 was more similar to 2021 than 2020; more people told us COVID influenced their decision to move by forcing them to start or continue working remotely, compared to the fewer who moved to be closer to family.
However, one new reason that came up this year was "delayed plans," meaning people are finally getting around to their COVID-delayed life plans.
2022 TOP 10 STATES
Moved-In (vol.)
- States
- 1. Florida
- 2. Texas
- 3. California
- 4. North Carolina
- 5. Georgia
- 6. Colorado
- 7. Arizona
- 8. South Carolina
- 9. Illinois
- 10. New York
- % of in-moves
- 6.2%
- 5.2%
- 3.6%
- 3.4%
- 2.2%
- 2.0%
- 1.8%
- 1.8%
- 1.8%
- 1.7%
Moved-Out (vol.)
- States
- 1. California
- 2. Texas
- 3. Florida
- 4. Illinois
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Georgia
- 7. Colorado
- 8. New York
- 9. Virginia
- 10. Arizona
- % of out-moves
- -5.0%
- -5.1%
- -3.6%
- -3.4%
- -2.2%
- -2.0%
- -1.8%
- -1.8%
- -1.8%
- -1.7%
Moved-In (Ratio)
- STATES
- 1. Vermont
- 2. Maine
- 3. South Carolina
- 4. Delaware
- 5. Arkansas
- 6. West Virginia
- 7. North Carolina
- 8. Tennessee
- 9. New Mexico
- 10. Oklahoma
- % of in-moves
- 138.7%
- 82.1%
- 71.6%
- 54.2%
- 41.9%
- 38.8%
- 38.0%
- 37.2%
- 35.2%
- 34.2%
Moved-Out (Ratio)
- States
- 1. New Jersey
- 2. California
- 3. Illinois
- 4. Minnesota
- 5. Connecticut
- 6. Michigan
- 7. Maryland
- 8. Nebraska
- 9. Louisiana
- 10. Indiana
- % of out-moves
- -41.2%
- -39.5%
- -31.3%
- -29.1%
- -20.3%
- -17.8%
- -16.0%
- -15.9%
- -15.0%
- -12.8%
2022 TOP 10 CITIES
- CITIES (BY RATIO)
- 1. The Villages, FL
- 2. New Braunfels, TX
- 3. Saint Augustine, FL
- 4. Wilmington, NC
- 5. Bradenton, FL
- 6. Olympia, WA
- 7. Port Saint Lucie, FL
- 8. Myrtle Beach, SC
- 9. Greenville, SC
- 10. Ocala, FL
- % of in-moves
- 348%
- 130%
- 112%
- 112%
- 110%
- 109%
- 105%
- 103%
- 98%
- 95%
- CITIES (BY RATIO)
- 1. San Jose, CA
- 2. Oakland, CA
- 3. Memphis, TN
- 4. Long Beach, CA
- 5. Ashburn, VA
- 6. Hollywood, FL
- 7. Mount Prospect, IL
- 8. Omaha, NE
- 9. Fairfax, VA
- 10. Minneapolis, MN
- % of out-moves
- -74%
- -58%
- -53%
- -49%
- -48%
- -43%
- -43%
- -39%
- -38%
- -37%
Moving data calculated from over 107,000 moves serviced in 2022 via HireAHelper.com and its affiliates contrasted against 2021 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 Gains" and "Net Losses" calculations.
Top 10 States: Vermont Tops 2022 Rankings
Moving to Vermont is a trend that started during the pandemic, and it appears to have reached a new peak in 2022. The New England state saw more than twice (138%) as many people move in than move out this year, by ratio, when examining the number of people who hired movers.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the top of the 2022 state rankings remained mostly unchanged from last year, as Maine (82%), South Carolina (72%), Delaware (54%), and last year's winner Arkansas (42%) all saw higher net gains in the number of move-in's versus move-out's, compared to other states.
There is, however, a change lower down the rankings. Florida, a constant presence in the top 10 charts, was pushed down to the 13th spot. (Last year, 24% more people moved in than out of The Sunshine State.)
The biggest state losses by ratio
The states that lost the most residents to migration in 2022 are similar to the year before it. New Jersey (-41%) and California (-40%) are, again, the states with the biggest net losses in terms of people moving out versus in.
Top 10 Cities: Florida Cities Dominate Top Destinations List in 2022
Cities in the Sunshine State being at the top of net move-in rankings isn't exactly breaking news, but what is rather surprising is that The Villages, FL is the number one city destination by ratio for the second year in a row!
In 2022, a whopping 348% more people moved to The Villages, FL than left it!
And that's not just in our data. According to the U.S. Census figures, The Villages was the fastest-growing metropolitan area over the last decade, and it's refusing to let up.
Joining The Villages in our annual top 10 cities by move-in ratio are a plethora of other cities in Florida: Saint Augustine, Bradenton, Port Saint Lucie, and Ocala, all which saw almost twice as many people move in versus move out.
The biggest city losses by ratio
This year, it was two cities sequential to the previous "winner" San Francisco — San Jose, CA (-74%) and Oakland, CA (-58%) — that saw the highest number of people leave them compared to the number of people moving in. San Francisco itself wasn't far behind, with a 36% drop-off in net moves throughout 2022.
An unexpected entry in this part of the rankings is Minneapolis, MN, where 37% more people left than moved in. With local reports pointing to increasingly unaffordable housing and tax burdens, this may not come as a surprise to local Minnesotans.
Saint Paul, MN of the Twin Cities Metro area saw a similar outflow of residents, as 35% more people left that city than moved in, too.
If you're curious about cities that saw most people move in or leave in your state, check out the interactive table below.
2022 Moving Economics: Moves Were Longer and More Expensive
Examining the data on over 100,000 moves booked via HireAHelper in 2022, Americans are moving farther than before. In 2022, the average length of a move was 73.4 miles, some 44% farther than the year before.
In five states, the average move distance actually exceeded 100 miles! They were: Delaware (127.1 miles), Oregon (120.3), Florida (109.4), Louisiana (105.4), and New Hampshire (100.35).
The shortest moves by distance were recorded in Nebraska, New York and Kansas, all which averaged around 29 miles between a typical move's origin point and destination, respectively.
Cost of moving has gone up
The increase in average moving distance (combined with the likely effects of inflation) contributed to why the cost of moving in America was so high in 2022. (Factors influencing "cost of moving" include local mover fees, gasoline prices, and more.)
Overall, the cost of moving averaged $410 for the year 2022, roughly an 8% jump compared to 2021!
In August 2022, the overall price of moving hit a historic peak: $454 per move, on average. That's 12% higher than during the same busy summer months of 2021!
Vermont, the state that saw the highest net inflow of moves, was also the state where moving cost the most in 2022: Vermont moves averaged $648 per move!
Two other states that had many more people move in than out in 2022 — West Virginia and Arkansas — were also among those where cost of moving was reportedly the highest this year, at $577 and $526, respectively.
Sources and Methodology
HireAHelper's 2022-23 Migration Study analyzed over 107,000 local and long-distance moves in the U.S. that were booked in 2022 through HireAHelper.com and its partner sites and affiliates, including 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 survey carried out in December 2022 (2,275 respondents)
Six states (Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) were excluded in part, due to a lack of sufficiently representative 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 the net gain/loss calculation.
Artwork by Grayson Evans