ST. LOUIS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- South Dakota narrowly overtakes Oregon, which held the top spot for the
previous three years, as the nation's "Top Moving Destination."
This is the first time South
Dakota has held the no. 1 spot. Vermont inched out Oregon for the no 2. position, with
Oregon rounding out the top three.
Those are the results of the United Van Lines' 40th
Annual National Movers Study, which tracks customers'
state-to-state migration patterns over the past year.
Retirees are continuing to move to the Mountain and Pacific
West. The Western U.S. is represented on the high-inbound list by
Oregon (67 percent),
Idaho (65 percent),
Washington (58 percent),
Nevada (58 percent) and
Arizona (57 percent). Of
moves to Oregon, the highest
ranking Western state, a new job or company transfer (53 percent)
and retirement (19 percent) led the reasons for most inbound
moves.
The Southern states also saw a high number of people moving in
with 53 percent of total moves being inbound. United Van Lines found the top reasons for moving south
included company transfer/new job, retirement and proximity to
family.
The Northeast continues to experience a moving deficit with
New Jersey (63 percent outbound), New York
(63 percent) and Connecticut (60 percent) making the list
of top outbound states for the second consecutive year.
Pennsylvania (56 percent)
also joined the top outbound list this year.
"For 40 years, United Van Lines has been tracking which states
people are moving to and from. We also survey our customers to
understand why they are moving from state-to-state," said
Melissa Sullivan, director of
marketing communications at United Van Lines. "As the nation's
largest household goods mover, the data we collect is reflective of
national migration trends."
"This year's data clearly reflects retirees' location
preferences. We are seeing more retirees than ever decide to
relocate, and as a result, new retirement hubs are popping up in
Western and Southern states," said Michael
A. Stoll, economist, professor in the Department of Public
Policy at the University of California, Los
Angeles. "Interestingly enough, these retirees are leaving
at such a fast pace that the movement of millennials to urban areas
in the Midwest and Northeast is being overshadowed."
Regarding why people are moving, the Mountain West led the way
with retirees, with one in four movers indicated they chose to move
to this location for retirement reasons. Regions which saw the most
inbound moves for company transfers included the Midwest (63
percent) and Pacific West (62 percent). The region with the largest
exodus of residents due to finding jobs elsewhere was the southern
U.S. (62 percent). Across all regions, nearly one in five of those
who moved in 2016 moved to be closer to family.
United has tracked migration patterns annually on a
state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2016, the study is based on
household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states
and Washington, D.C. This study
ranks states based off the inbound and outbound percentages of
total moves in each state. United classifies states as "high
inbound" if 55 percent or more of the moves are going into a state,
"high outbound" if 55 percent or more moves were coming out of a
state or "balanced" if the difference between inbound and outbound
is negligible.
Moving In
The top inbound states of 2016 were:
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Oregon
- Idaho
- South Carolina
- Washington
- District of Columbia
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- Arizona
South Dakota is the most
popular moving destination of 2016 with nearly 68 percent of moves
to and from the state being inbound. The state has continued to
climb the ranks, increasing inbound migration by 23 percent over
the past five years. New to the 2016 top inbound list are
South Dakota at No. 1 and Arizona at No. 10 with 68 and 57 percent
inbound moves, respectively.
Moving Out
The top outbound states for 2016 were:
- New Jersey
- Illinois
- New York
- Connecticut
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- Ohio
- Utah
- Pennsylvania
In addition to the Northeast, Illinois (63 percent) moved up one spot on
the outbound list, to no. 2, ranking in the top five for the last
eight years.
New additions to the 2016 top outbound list include
Kentucky (58 percent),
Utah (56 percent) and
Pennsylvania
(56 percent).
Balanced
Several states gained approximately the same number of residents as
those that left. This list of "balanced" states includes
California, New Mexico and Delaware. Delaware appeared on the balanced list for
the second consecutive year.
To view the entire study, an interactive map and archived press
releases from United, visit the United Van Lines website.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-van-lines-annual-national-movers-study-shows-retirees-leaving-sand-and-sunny-beaches-for-western-mountains-300384301.html
SOURCE United Van Lines