Moving Words – State of Moving 2023

Timothy Brady

“Research is creating new knowledge.”  – Neil Armstrong

In the post-pandemic era, we’re seeing significant changes in the business of relocation and moving. The numbers of individuals and families who move each year have not rebounded back to pre-pandemic numbers.

In 2023, the number of Americans moving both locally and long distance is continuing to be in decline. The Brooking Institute’s research on US migration shows a long-term trend of decline. According to the research from 2021 to 2022, only around 9% of Americans moved to a different residence; this included both local and long-distance relocations. That’s over a 50% reduction compared to the 20% of us who annually moved from the 1940s through the 1960s.

Note: The researchers found it was easier to move during those decades since the vast majority of households had just one earner, compared to today’s families which are double-earners.

In a U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the study points out 13.7% of Americans moved in 2019 compared to 12.8% in 2021.

Other Results from the U.S. Census Bureau’s survey covering the 2019-2021 data:

• In 2019, 7.6% of the U.S. population aged one year or older moved to a new residence in the same county; by 2021, that percentage had declined to 6.7%.
• The percentage of those who reported that they had moved the previous year to a new residence in a different county within the same state increased from 3.2% to 3.3%. between 2019 and 2021.
• Movers to a new residence in a different state increased from 2.3% to 2.4% in the same period.
• The percentage of movers from abroad aged one year or older declined slightly from 0.6% to 0.5% during this period.
• Declines in the total mover rate appear to be tied to a drop in the number of people making same-county moves, the largest category (roughly 25 million in 2019 and about 22 million in 2021).
• All four regions defined for the U.S. Census Bureau purposes as Northeast, Midwest, South, and West experienced declines in the total percentage of movers between the 2019 and 2021 data, especially when it came to local moves within the same county. The Northeast saw the smallest decline in mover rates, from 11.4% to 11.0%.

In an Architectural Digest Study in midsummer 2023, 55% of adults want to relocate.

Nearly 42% of respondents reported that finding an area with more affordable housing or a lower cost of living would compel them to move.

For GenZ, Millennials, and GenX, here are the top reasons they want to move:

• Moving to a new job.
• Looking for a safer neighborhood in which to live.
• Wanting to be closer to family and/or friends.
• Living in an area with others who are more aligned with their beliefs.
• Lower taxes.

For Boomers, their priories for moving were a little different:

• Affordable housing and lower cost of living is number one.
• Closer to family and friends.
• Living in an area with others who are more aligned with their beliefs.
• Lower taxes.

Out of the 1000 respondents in the AD survey, the following percentages aren’t willing to move:

• Boomers:  25.7%
• GenX: 14.9%
• Millennials: 7.9%
• GenZ: 5.1%

Despite declining moving rates over the past several years, Americans of all ages continue to question where they live and consider making a change, so as movers we must be ready, willing and able to aid them with all their relocation needs.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” –                                                                                                                              Alan Lakein