United Van Lines has released the 46th Annual National Movers study, which examines American moving trends over the last year.
The study found a number of nuanced trends regarding moving patterns over the course of 2022, including what areas people are moving to and what the inspiration is behind moves in the country.
The results of the study reflected data gathered over the course of 2022, including where people moved the most and why people moved where they did. The study found that Americans have continued to consistently move to areas with lower population densities and to areas that reflect newer lifestyle preferences often influenced by the past pandemic of a couple of years ago.
Overall, the study found that Vermont found the highest increase in inbound moves on average over the course of the year, which makes it the state’s second consecutive year at the top of this list. The state saw a 77% rate of inbound moves to the state versus outbound moves.
Oregon follows Vermont on the list of states with the highest rates of inbound moves with 67% of total relocations being inbound. The top five of states with the highest inbound moving rates were rounded out by Rhode Island (66%), Delaware (61%), and Washington DC (59%). The region with the highest number of inbound moves, despite these statistics, was the Southeast region of the United States.
The study also found that the state with the highest rate of outbound moves was New Jersey, which saw 67% of moves associated with it as outbound. This percentage is however down for the state from the year before, where outbound moving rates came to 70%. This is New Jersey’s fifth consecutive year with the highest percentage of outbound moves.
New Jersey was joined in the top five states with the highest percentages of outbound moves with Illinois, New York, Michigan, and Wyoming.
Among the states with high numbers of inbound or outbound moves were ‘balanced states’, or states which had nearly equal numbers of people leaving them as residents coming in. The most balanced states of which were Missouri and Nevada.
United’s study also found that the group who moved the most during the course of 2022 was Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers, who both moved more than any other age group. 55% of all United Van Lines moves over the course of the last year were moves of those over 55 years of age.
The top motivations for inbound moving in 2022 were cited as people wanting to be closer to family, which has been a consistent holdover from peak-COVID times, moving for a new job or transfer by a company, and retirement. Moving for employment reasons has shown a consistent decrease in percentages over the course of COVID and in years past, coming in at 33% this past year.
Upon reflection, this data shows definite moving trends that have become clear throughout the duration of 2022. The top states for inbound moves were those with the lowest population density in the country, with some with less than 100 people per square mile. Those with very high population densities or major cities like New York or Illinois have seen the highest levels of outbound moves.
In 2023, these moving trends are largely expected to continue, as people look for less densely populated areas with more affordable options for housing or quality of life. Since the COVID-19 pandemic saw people moving more so for personal reasons than for employment or new jobs, the trend of which can be expected to slow down a little as fewer offices adopt fully remote setups and might require new employees to move closer to their base.
Overall, moving trends have been fairly consistent over the past year and are expected to continue to reflect the same trends and mindsets in 2023.
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Great experience with Hollander’s crew: Dominic R, Alex P, and Chris C. They were contracted (military move) to deliver some of our things that had been packed up and stored for a year, in a different location. They were professional and worked without complaints in the heat, placing our items carefully where I requested. They maneuvered a large, deep freezer down a tight staircase easily. They were thorough in helping me check to make sure all our things were accounted for, since it had changed locations/companies a few times before making it here. They were so helpful and courteous – I am very happy with my experience and would definitely recommend them!
-Timm.
The driver was the head of the crew, and he was on top of everything. He made the experience working with Hollander Moving a pleasure. We have used others before but it was our first time using Hollander. Everything turned out great.
-Eric Y..
Every employee I worked with was courteous, professional, and exceedingly competent. I was nervous about the packing and long distance move (from Illinois to New Mexico, October 2009) and Hollander helped make the move as smooth as possible. Not a thing was damaged or broken
-Kay S..
I would recommend Hollander to any company thinking about switching vendors, and any family making a move. A Hollander rep even stopped by my new place when they were unloading just to check on things.
Wonderful service – first class!
-Julia C..
Everything Hollander has done was over the top. It was courteous people, polite, caring. Their friendliness was over the top. There was one member of the crew who’d been a friend for 30 years, and the rest was family. I couldn’t say enough about them.
-Jerry M..
I recently moved from Chicago to Tampa and expected a few road bumps along the way but was pleasantly surprised when everything from loading to delivery was flawless. Everyone I came in contact with was very professional and knowledgable. I highly recommend Hollander Moving and Storage as they are a class act.
-Sandy C..
This move envolved packing and delivery to four different destinations. Attention to detail and coordination were vital and effectively executed by Tony R driver and his crew. Ardene did a great job coordinating everything. The entire group were both extremely pleasant and efficient.
-Gary T..
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