The COVID-19 pandemic forced population shifts like never before. People moved seemingly en masse out of urban areas, relocating sometimes across the country or even outside of the United States. Now, metro centers like New York City and Miami are seeing sky-high housing demand and budget-breaking rental prices as populations return to pre-pandemic routines.
The latest Census data is already too out-of-date to understand where people have moved and the metros they may return to. Businesses and property developers can benefit from dynamic data highlighting monthly changes in migration.
Which U.S. states saw the greatest inflow of out-of-state moves in 2022?
Florida is 2022's Number 1 Destination State with nearly 148,000 moves into the state.
+ 2. Texas - 71,274 moves
+ 3. California - 62,124 moves
+ 4. New York - 53,204 moves
+ 5. Illinois - 43,364 moves
Dynamic migration data allows us to examine the origin states for these top moves:
New Yorkers flooded Florida with nearly 12% of Florida's total moves in 2022, followed by Michigan with nearly 8% of total moves. The top 5 origin states for Florida moves are mainly Northern and Midwestern states: New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Georgia as the Southern exception.
California and Louisiana top the Texas inflow with 11 and 9% of moves, respectively.
New York and California destinations stick out for their trends: inflow from Nevada and Arizona for California, and New Jersey and Florida for New York. Are these moves related to pandemic reversals? We dug deeper into New York migration trends here.
Remote workers found quieter metros and suburban regions to be ideal at the height of COVID's spread, but it's likely a portion of these movers are choosing to return to former homes. This is apparent in Illinois's data as well, where Indiana and Florida are the top two origin states. We dove deeper into county-specific moves here to answer this question.
Florida made it to the top 5 spot for both destination and origin states, meaning it's become a 2022 hub for both inflow and outflow.
For comparison, the total moves out of Florida to other states in 2022 totals 96,628 -- the number 1 state for outflow, but still only around 65% of the outflow's 147,927 moves. Census Bureau statistics for house sales bears this out.
House sales in the United States between January to March of 2022 totaled 2.3 million housing units, with the following regional break-out:
+ Northeast - 129,000 houses
+ Midwest - 284,000 houses
+ South - 1,291,000 houses
+ West - 628,000 houses
The South comprised 55% of all house sales between January to March, right in line with this year's migration data.
Movers from the North are planting roots in the South, and in particular, the state of Florida. Check out our Florida deep dive here to learn more about where in Florida the housing market may have cooled.
Dynamic data is essential for businesses that need to stay on top of how migration will impact demographics, including total income levels, and fluctuations in neighborhood traffic and demand. Demand applies not only to housing, but for business and municipal services too.
This piece focused on state-to-state migration, but data is also available from the county-to-county and tract-to-tract level. Neighborhood foot traffic as granular as the census block group level can also be paired with migration data to forecast specific migration impacts on local businesses.
Want a data sample or have questions about migration data? Schedule a meeting to speak with one of our location data experts.
