The Great Reshuffling Revisited: Why Are Americans Moving?

In an era of remote work, Americans are surprisingly still moving for jobs, but there’s a twist: New data reveals that job-related relocations and better housing are the two most powerful motivators. While remote work promised to untether Americans from office locations, the share of those who relocated for a new job or a transfer last year exceeded 13%. Even more telling, the pursuit of better homes represented 15% of all moves, along with the search for more affordable housing, which drove 10% of relocations. Instead of compromising more, Americans are now strategically relocating to balance career opportunities with quality of life and housing costs.

To better understand why people move, we looked at IPUMS CPS data for 107 metro areas. Our analysis shows the share of people who changed homes for specific* reasons grouped into three main categories: housing, job and lifestyle.

“Restless mobility in search of opportunity is an American hallmark,” read an article in The New York Times prior to the pandemic. Although fewer people relocate now compared to previous decades, a significant number of Americans are still moving. For example, last year, more than 24 million people chose to relocate. Notably, more than half of those who moved last year (13 million) packed up for better housing, while another 5 million chased job opportunities. These numbers reveal how housing and career choices continue to reshape America’s cities.

In fact, housing and jobs consistently stand out as the primary reasons Americans choose to relocate. Specifically, about 15% of movers were seeking a better home, closely followed by 13% who moved for a new job. This trend reveals an intriguing paradox of the remote work era: Despite the widespread adoption of work-from-home policies, job-related relocations remain strong. It suggests that workers are leveraging the flexibility of remote work to seize career opportunities across broader geographic areas. This trend aligns with the post-2020 job-hopping phenomenon, in which nearly one in five workers stayed in their role for a year or less by 2022. Plus, an easier commute drove more than 5% of all moves last year, which reinforces the paradox.

Next, third place is occupied by those who move to establish their own household with 10.3% of all movers in 2023. While moving out and living on one’s own seems to be less appealing or achievable compared to pre-pandemic times, solo renters are the fastest-rising renting group. Then, cheaper housing comes in as the fourth most popular reason for relocating with a share of nearly 10%. This is far from unexpected in the context of record-high home prices.

Speaking of home prices, more than 7% of Americans who moved last year did so to achieve homeowner status, highlighting that relocating to afford a house remains a common trend. Similarly, nearly 6% of movers sought a better neighborhood — often the first step toward improving their overall quality of life.

Although lifestyle-related reasons account for fewer moves, they remain significant. Namely, health concerns drove 1.8% of relocations nationwide, retirement accounted for 1.4%, and change of climate motivated less than 1%. This translates to millions of Americans seeking an improved quality of life, especially during their golden years.

Top metros for better housing are in the Midwest

The Midwest is gaining traction as a region offering a great mix of affordable living and quality housing. This is reflected in the shares of Americans who choose Midwestern metros as their destination when relocating for new or better housing. As a result, Chicago boasts the highest share of people who moved for new or better housing — 27.2%. Akron, OH, and Kansas City, MO, are second and third with 25.9% and 22.3%, respectively. Such moves were also enabled by remote work, which allowed Americans to move to less expensive locations without changing their jobs.

That said, major hubs New York, Los Angeles and Boston are also in the top 10 with high percentages of people who relocated here for new or better housing. This makes sense given that all three fall in the top 20 metros with the highest numbers of new apartments to open in 2024.

In particular, Northeastern locations seem to be popular destinations for those looking to establish their own household. For instance, Albany, NY, has the nation’s highest share of Americans who decided to set out on their own (25.6%), while Buffalo, NY, is fourth with 19.7%. Both locations stand out with solid shares of young residents and a median age that's below the national average but Albany leads with the youngest movers: In the capital of New York, the median age is 32, whereas the national median mover age is 39.

Over on the West Coast, California metros are among the top locations for Americans searching for cheaper housing. For example, 22% of all those who relocated to Modesto, CA, in 2022 did so for the metro area's more affordable homes. Next is Stockton, CA, with 19.2%, while Fresno, CA, is sixth with a share of 16.7%. Notably, all of these California destinations have significantly lower housing costs compared to the state average. Meanwhile, Southern locations — like McAllen, TX; Memphis, TN; Myrtle Beach, SC; Deltona, FL — are also among the top metros where Americans moved to find cheaper homes.

Speaking of the South, the highest percentages of Americans who moved to own, rather than rent, are also found in metro areas in the region. Case in point: Greensboro, NC, tops the list with one-third of all who moved here in 2022 transitioning from renting to owning. In second place is Lakeland, FL, with 21.1%. Likewise, Southern metros Winston-Salem, NC; Durham, NC; Lexington, KY; and Knoxville, TN; are also in the top 10. Most of these places own the magic formula for attracting renters — affordable housing, job opportunities and economic growth, along with plenty of leisure amenities.

Back on the East Coast, Scranton, PA, is the leading metro area for Americans who moved for a better neighborhood. Close to 40% of all those who relocated here did it for a more convenient district. Zooming in, Scranton scores big with renters due to its numerous parks and overall comfortable living environment. Second on the list is Buffalo, NY, with 27.8% of all movers, while Grand Rapids, MI, takes the bronze medal with a similar share.

Where are Americans moving for new jobs? The Southeast

The highest shares of movers who relocated for a new job or job transfer are in Southeastern metro areas. More precisely, Augusta, GA, tops the list with one-third of new residents coming for new jobs. Next is Fayetteville, NC, with nearly one-fifth of all those who moved here in 2022 motivated by a new professional start. As such, job opportunities seem to be pouring into this renter hotspot (second in the nation for rental competitiveness), where tech giant Amazon plans to fill about 1,000 positions at one of its newest facilities. Third is Columbia, SC, which saw a similar share of 18.4%, while Huntsville, AL, recorded an 18.2% share for fourth place. Clearly, the Carolinas are also top destinations for young Americans as nearly one-third of those relocating to South Carolina are Millennials.

Also on the list are Washington, D.C., followed by Pittsburgh; Charleston, SC; and Baltimore. Of course, the nation's capital is a magnet for graduates looking for government jobs, particularly in the tech sector.

Metros in the Southeast are also go-to places for those looking for work or those who lost a job. At the top of the list is Jackson, MS, with nearly 15% of those who came in 2022 doing so for job opportunities. Next are Lexington, KY; Greensboro, NC; and Little Rock, AR; but South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Greenville are also in the top 10. So is Orlando, FL, at #9 with a share of 8%. It's worth noting here that South Carolina stands out due to its expanding tech and manufacturing industries, which create hundreds of job opportunities. As an example, Meta is planning a new data center in the state and already announced the ensuing 100 jobs.

Another popular state for movers is Florida, and its metros have some of the largest shares of people looking for an easier commute. Here, Deltona and Fort Myers are first and second on our list of the top 10 metros with the highest shares of movers aiming to get around faster and with less of an effort. On the opposite coast, four California metros are also popular among movers for the same reason, including Santa Rosa at #3, Bakersfield at #6, San Francisco at #9 and Fresno rounding out the top 10.

There’s no better living than Southern living

When it comes to metro areas attracting the most residents looking for a better lifestyle, locations in the Southeast take the lead. In particular, Pensacola, FL, saw the largest share of Americans who moved due to health reasons at 13.9%. It was followed by Charleston, SC; Fayetteville, NC; Jacksonville, FL; Austin, TX; and Lakeland, FL. In fact, the only metro area in the top 10 that's not in the South is the strategically located Stockton in sunny California. So, what do all of these places have in common? Sunny skies, strong job markets or proximity to job hubs, and a more affordable cost of living compared to major coastal hubs, as well as modern and expanding health-care facilities. All of these contribute to a better quality of life and peace of mind.

If you’re thinking that only the coasts of Florida are popular for retirees, think again: The leading metro area for Americans moving due to retirement is Worcester, MA, with a share of nearly 10%. Its strong point seems to be the easy access to good quality health-care services. Next is Provo, UT — 8.9% of all those who relocated here chose this metro area for their post-grind living. Granted, as expected, there are four Florida metro areas on the list — Orlando, Palm Bay, Tampa and Lakeland.

Of course, when it comes to the metro areas with the largest shares of movers relocating due to the weather, half (but not all) are Southern destinations. The top metro is a sunny location on the West Coast — Santa Rosa, CA — followed by Knoxville, TN; and New Haven, CT, which experiences all four seasons. Larger hubs — like San Diego and Dallas — also attract Americans looking for more sunshine.

Browse our complete chart to find your metro:

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the U.S.

To compile this report, RentCafe.com’s research team analyzed IPUMS CPS data for the largest 107 metropolitan areas in the nation — locations with a population equal to or greater than 500,000 people. IPUMS stands for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and provides census and survey data from around the world, integrated across time and space. IPUMS is part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota.

*To get a clearer picture of the top reasons why people move, we only considered specific reasons for moving, and disregarded non-specific responses. In total, we worked with 11 specific reasons for moving, which we divided into three categories: Five were housing-related, three were job-related and three more were lifestyle-related.

For the local sections focusing on metropolitan areas, the most recent and comprehensive data sets available were from 2022. Additionally, for accuracy and comprehensiveness, we used the five-year averages to estimate 2022 values.

IPUMS USA
Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Megan Schouweiler and Michael Westberry. IPUMS CPS: Version 11.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2023. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V11.0 

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