Why People Moved in the Past 12 Months

For the past two decades, the Census Bureau has been asking the nation's movers the main reason for their move. Over the years, wanting "a newer/better/larger house or apartment" has been the single most important reason people say they moved. This reason was cited by the 17.2 percent plurality of movers in 2020-21 and by an almost identical 17.6 percent of movers two decades ago in 2000-01. 

Despite the decline in the number of movers over the decade (only 27 million people moved in 2020-21 versus 39 million in 2000-01), the primary reasons for moving have remained pretty much the same. Here are the five top reasons people moved from one house to another between 2020 and 2021...

17% wanted newer/better/larger house or apartment

11% wanted to establish their own household

  9% wanted cheaper housing

  9% got a new job or job transfer

  6% wanted a better neighborhood

Of course, people of different ages have different reasons for moving. Among those who moved between 2020 and 2021, here are the top reasons they moved...

• Aged 20 to 24: to establish own household (17 percent) followed by to attend or leave college (12 percent).
• Aged 25 to 29: wanted newer/better/larger house or apartment (20 percent) followed by to establish own household (13 percent).
• Aged 30 to 44: wanted newer/better/larger house or apartment (20 percent) followed by new job or job transfer (11 percent).
• Aged 45 to 64: wanted newer/better/larger house or apartment (15 percent) followed by cheaper housing (11 percent).
• Aged 65 to 74: "other" family reason (19 percent) followed by wanted newer/better/larger house or apartment (13 percent). In third place, 10 percent of movers in the age group said they moved because they retired. 
• Aged 75-plus: "other family reason" (20 percent) followed by health reasons (15 percent). 

Could moving closer to adult children be the "other family reason" for moving in the 65-plus age groups? The Census Bureau does not break out this reason separately but instead lumps it into the residual "other family reason." It would be clarifying if "to be closer to adult children" was detailed separately. 

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Census Bureau's CPS Historical Migration/Geographic Mobility Tables

Movers from Abroad at 70-Year Low

Not only are Americans moving at a record low pace, but fewer people are moving to the United States from abroad. Only 611,000 movers from abroad came to the United States in 2021, according to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the smallest number since 1951. 

Typically, more than 1 million movers from abroad arrive in the United States each year. The number first surpassed 1 million in 1962 and has remained above that level in most years since then. The number peaked at 1.8 million in 2005. 

The decline has affected all parts of the United States. Every region recorded a record low number of movers from abroad in 2021, according to the Census Bureau's regional data series dating back to 1981... 

Movers from abroad by region, 2021 (and peak number and year) 

Northeast: 81,000 (337,000 in 2001)

Midwest: 63,000 (357,000 in 2015)

South: 323,000 (685,000 in 2005)

West: 144,000 (629,000 in 1989)

Between the peak year and 2021, the number of movers from abroad fell 82 percent in the Midwest, 76 percent in the Northeast, 56 percent in the West, and 53 percent in the South. If you wonder why there is a labor shortage, this is one of the reasons. 

Source: Census Bureau, CPS Historical Migration/Geographic Mobility Tables

Geographic Mobility Again Falls to All-Time Low

Only 8.4 percent of Americans lived in a different house in 2021 than one year earlier, according to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. This is the lowest rate of geographic mobility in a data series going back more than 70 years. The 27.1 million movers were also the fewest ever recorded in the data series. 

Percent of population aged 1 or older who moved during the year

2020-2021: 8.4%

2010-2011: 11.6%

2000-2001: 14.2%

1990-1991: 17.0%

1980-1981: 17.2%

1970-1971: 18.7%

1960-1961: 20.6%

1950-1951: 21.2%

The geographic mobility rate has been falling for decades, so it is no surprise that the current numbers are the lowest ever recorded. In fact, the U.S. has set a new record low in geographic mobility in every year since 2015-2016. The Census Bureau notes that changes in nonresponse rates to the Current Population Survey (CPS) may have affected the 2021 data. The mobility rate may not be quite as low as the measured 8.4 percent because renters and lower-income households, who are more likely to move, have been less likely than others to respond to the CPS during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the trend is clear. Americans are increasingly likely to stay put. 

Source: Census Bureau, CPS Migration/Geographic Mobility Data Tables

How Far Do You Live from Your Mother?

If you're like most Americans with living mothers, your mom lives only a few miles away. Yes, even in these modern times.

"Very close residential proximity to one's mother beyond coresidence is common across the life course even in the geographically large United States," reports a study of proximity to mother in the journal Demographic Research.

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the study's researchers looked at how far children born between 1951 and 1968 lived from their mothers over a 47-year time period. Here are the results for children whose mother was alive at each given age...

Median distance adult children live from mother at each given age

Age 25 to 34: 6.3 miles

Age 35 to 44: 11.1 miles

Age 45 to 54: 12.4 miles

Age 55 to 64: 10.1 miles

"Overall, a large share of children lived very close to their mother through midlife," concludes the study.

Source: Demographic Research, Proximity to Mother over the Life Course in the United States: Overall Patterns and Racial Differences

Urban Exodus? Not So Fast

Did the coronavirus pandemic really cause Americans to flee the cities? This notion has been bandied about by the media for months, but the evidence has been more anecdotal than factual. Now we have the facts, thanks to Stephan D. Whitaker, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. 

Whitaker analyzed data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel. The addresses of borrowers in the Equifax data are updated monthly and are as geographically detailed as census tracts. This kind of detail allowed Whitaker to examine migration into and out of urban neighborhoods, which he defined as census tracts in metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more and a population density of at least 7,000 people per square mile or most of the housing in the tract was built before World War II. He studied migration flows into and out of urban neighborhoods from March through September 2020 and compared them to migration flows during the same months in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 

So, was migration out of urban neighborhoods greater in 2020 than in the earlier years? Yes. Out-migration from urban neighborhoods averaged 276,000 per month from March through September 2020—or 10,000 more out-migrants per month in 2020 than in 2017–19. But that's not the whole story. In fact, it's not even the bigger story. This is the bigger story: the number of people moving into urban neighborhoods decreased more than the the number of people moving out of urban neighborhoods increased. There were an average of 18,000 fewer in-migrants to urban neighborhoods per month in 2020 than in the earlier years compared with the 10,000 per month increase in out-migrants.  

"The estimates presented here strongly suggest that migration flows were unfavorable for urban neighborhoods during 2020," concludes Whitaker. But use of the term "exodus" to describe the change is not accurate, he says. Rather than an exodus out of urban neighborhoods, the bigger migration story of 2020 was the decline in the number of migrants moving into urban neighborhoods. "What is certain is that hundreds of thousands of people who would have moved into an urban neighborhood in a typical year were unwilling or unable to do so in 2020."

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Did the Covid-19 Pandemic Cause an Urban Exodus?

A New Low in Geographic Mobility in 2020: 9.3%

There has been a lot of talk about the numbers of people who have moved because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a Pew Research Center survey fielded in June, a substantial 22 percent of adults had relocated because of the pandemic or knew someone who had. An Upwork survey fielded in October found 14 to 23 million workers planning to move because remote work gave them the opportunity to live anywhere they choose. Those moves will boost migration in the United States, Upwork said.  

Nice try, but no cigar. Yesterday the Census Bureau released the official numbers on geographic mobility in 2020. The data are collected by the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). The survey asks respondents, "Were you living in this house or apartment one year ago?" Only 9.3 percent said no—a record low geographic mobility rate.  

Percent of people aged 1 or older who lived in a different house or apartment one year ago

2019–20: 9.3% (record low)

2018–19: 9.8%

2017–18: 10.1%

2010–11: 11.6%

2000–01: 14.2%

There are a couple of reasons why the CPS ASEC did not capture coronavirus-related moves. One reason is timing. The Census Bureau fields the ASEC in March of each year. Perhaps March was too early in the pandemic to capture those moves. The second reason is response rates. In the turmoil during the early weeks of the pandemic, response rates to the March 2020 CPS were abnormally low, according to Census Bureau research. Pandemic movers may have been (almost certainly were) less likely to respond to the survey than those who stayed put. 

For whatever the reason, the geographic mobility figures from the 2020 CPS do not shed any light on pandemic-related moves. This time next year, the 2021 geographic mobility data will be released. Perhaps they will show the anticipated uptick in migration...unless all the pandemic movers return to their pre-pandemic homes by March 2021.

Source: Census Bureau, Geographic Mobility, 2019 to 2020

The Coronavirus Reshuffle

The nation's geographic mobility rate has been falling for years. That may be about to change because of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than one in five adults (22 percent) say they moved or they know someone who moved because of the coronavirus, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Overall, 3 percent moved, 6 percent had someone move into their household, and 14 percent neither moved nor had someone move in but they know someone else who moved. Young adults are most likely to have moved...

Percent who moved for reasons related to the coronavirus outbreak
Aged 18 to 29: 9%
Aged 30 to 45: 3%
Aged 45 to 64: 2%
Aged 65-plus: 1%

Among those who moved, 61 percent moved in with family, 7 percent moved in with a friend, and 13 percent moved to a second home.

Source: Pew Research Center, About a Fifth of U.S. Adults Moved Due to Covid-19 or Know Someone Who Did

Renter Mobility Rate Slips below 20%

The nation's mobility rate hit an all-time low of 9.8 percent in 2018–19, primarily because fewer renters are moving. The mobility rate of renters fell to 19.7 percent, a record low and the first time the figure has been below 20 percent. The mobility rate of renters exceeded 30 percent before 2006. Because renters account for two-thirds of movers, the falling mobility rate of renters is the biggest factor behind the nation's record low overall mobility rate. Here is the trend in mobility by housing tenure...

Percentage of renters who moved
2018–19: 19.7%
2010–11: 26.1%
2000–01: 30.5%
1990–01: 33.6%

Percentage of homeowners who moved
2018–19: 4.9%
2010–11: 4.7%
2000–01: 7.4%
1990–01: 8.8%

Between 2018–19, only 20.9 million renters moved. This is the smallest number since the Census Bureau began to collect data on mobility rates by housing tenure in the 1980s. Among homeowners, 10.4 million moved in 2018–19, down from about 15 million a year prior to the Great Recession. 

Source: Census Bureau, Migration/Geographic Mobility

Geographic Mobility Rate Falls Below 10%

This is a broken record, literally. Each year brings a new low in the mobility rate, breaking the record set in the previous year.  The percentage of the population aged 1 or older who moved from one house to another in the past 12 months fell to a new low of 9.8 percent between March 2018 and March 2019, according to the Census Bureau. Today's mobility rate is less than half the rate of the 1950s and 1960s.

Mobility rate for selected years
2018–19:   9.8%
2017–18: 10.1%
2010–11: 11.6%
2000–01: 14.2%
1990–91: 17.0%
1980–81: 17.2%
1970–71: 18.7%
1960–61: 20.6%
1950–51: 21.2%

The number of people who moved fell to 31 million in 2018–19. This is 5.7 million fewer movers than a decade ago in 2008–09 and 11.3 million fewer movers than two decades ago in 1998–99. The number of movers has not been this low since 1953–54, when the U.S. population was half the size it is today.

Source: Census Bureau, Migration/Geographic Mobility

Mobility Rate of Renters Falls to 20.1%

The nation's mobility rate hit an all-time low of 10.1 percent in 2017–18, primarily because fewer renters are moving. The mobility rate of renters fell to 20.1 percent in 2017–18, down from more than 30 percent in the early 2000s. One reason for the decline in the mobility rate of renters is that fewer of them are moving after buying a house.

Number of renters aged 1 or older who moved after buying a house (in 000s)

2017–18: 2,350

2016–17: 2,554

2010–11: 1,544 (low)

2005–06: 3,415

2001–02: 4,334

2000–01: 3,942

In 2017–18, about 2.4 million renters moved after buying a house. While this number is higher than the post-Great Recession low of 1.5 million in 2010–11, it is well below the 4.3 million of 2001–02. What are the characteristics of renters who move after buying a house? The 57 percent majority are people aged 30 to 44 and children under age 16. 

Source: Census Bureau, Migration/Geographic Mobility

Mobility Rate Falls to 10.1%

Another record low: the percentage of the population aged 1 or older who moved from one house to another in the past 12 months fell to a new low of 10.1 percent between March 2017 and March 2018. Today's mobility rate is less than half the rate of 1960-61.

Mobility rate for selected years
2017–18: 10.1%
2016–17: 11.0%
2000–01: 14.2%
1990–91: 17.0%
1980–81: 17.2%
1970–71: 18.7%
1960–61: 20.6%
1950–51: 21.2%

The decline in mobility has been greatest among young adults. Take a look at the decline in the mobility rate of Americans aged 20 to 34 since the turn of the century...

Mobility rate of young adults in 2017–18 (and 2000–01)
Aged 20 to 24: 20.3% (32.7%)
Aged 25 to 29: 20.2% (29.5%)
Aged 30 to 34: 14.4% (20.6%)

Why has the mobility rate of young adults declined so steeply? One factor is student loans. Many young adults live with their parents, rather than on their own, as they pay down their debt.

Source: Census Bureau, Migration/Geographic Mobility

Mobility Rate Falls to New Low in 2017

The geographic mobility rate fell to a new all-time low in 2017, according to the Census Bureau. Only 11.0 percent of U.S. residents aged 1 or older as of March 2017 had moved in the previous 12 months. Not since 1960 have so few people moved (35 million).

Among people living in owned homes, 5.5 percent moved from one house to another between 2016 and 2017, above the all-time low of 4.7 percent recorded in 2011 and 2012. Among people living in rented homes, the mobility rate fell to a new all-time low of 21.7 percent in 2017.

Mobility rate in 2017
Total US: 11.0%
Owners: 5.5%
Renters: 21.7% 

Source: Census Bureau, CPS Historical Migration/Geographic Mobility Tables

Reason for Move: Natural Disaster

Americans move for many reasons, such as for better housing, to be closer to family, or for a new job. The Census Bureau collects data on the reasons people move. In 2006, it added the reason "natural disaster" to the list following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Between 2015–16, only 17,000 people moved because of natural disaster, making it the least common reason for moving during the year. In 2005–06, following Katrina, an astonishing 669,000 people moved because of natural disaster—nearly 2 percent of all moves during the year and outnumbering those who moved because of retirement, for a change of climate, health reasons, or to look for work. Since then, the number of people who have been forced to move because of a natural disaster has ranged from a handful to 177,000—well below the Katrina level. Next year when the Census Bureau releases geographic mobility data for 2017–18, we will see what Hurricane Harvey does to these numbers.

Source: Census Bureau, CPS Historical Migration/Geographic Mobility Tables

Why Aren't Millennials Moving?

The nation's geographic mobility rate has dropped to a record low. One factor behind the decline is the Millennial generation—younger adults, the people most likely to move. But younger adults aren't moving like they once did, reports Pew Research Center's Richard Fry. He examined trends in the geographical mobility rate of 25-to-34-year-olds over the past 50-plus years. The mobility rate of the age group was at all-time low of 20 percent in 2016.

Percent of 25-to-34-year-olds who moved in past year
2016: 20%
2000: 26%
1990: 27%
1981: 25%
1963: 26%

What accounts for the decline? One reason is the modest jobs recovery, suggests Fry. Job opportunities are not good enough to entice Millennials to move. Student debt also may be a factor, he says, preventing Millennials from buying homes. A survey of student loan borrowers by American Student Assistance confirms the impact of student debt on mobility. Among people with student loans, 43 percent say their debt has forced them to delay moving out of their parents' home, 46 percent say it has forced them to delay living on their own without roommates, and 57 percent said it has affected their ability to purchase a home.

Source: Pew Research Center, Americans Are Moving at Historically Low Rates, in Part Because Millennials Are Staying Put

When Boom Goes Bust, Stay or Go?

When boom turns to bust, is it better to hunker down and stay put or pull up stakes and move elsewhere? Move appears to be the answer.

"We find that geographic mobility following the bust is associated with stronger consumer financial health," say researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The researchers examined the credit records of people living in counties experiencing oil rig boom and bust between 2011 and 2014. The finances of movers and stayers were similar during the boom times, but they diverged in the bust. Those who left ended up better off financially than those who stayed (lower credit utilization, fewer derogatory accounts, lower past-due balances, and greater access to credit). "Our analysis implies that geographic mobility could have quantifiable benefits for consumer financial health," they conclude.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Geographic Mobility and Consumer Financial Health: Evidence from Oil Production Boom Towns

Mobility Rate Hits New Low in 2015–16

The geographic mobility rate fell to a new all-time low in 2015–16, according to the Census Bureau. Only 11.2 percent of U.S. residents aged 1 or older as of March 2016 had moved in the previous 12 months. This rate is is well below the previous low of 11.5 percent recorded in 2013–14. Behind the decline is a fairly large drop in the percentage of renters who moved.

Among people living in owned homes, 5.1 percent moved from one house to another between 2015 and 2016, higher than the all-time low of 4.7 percent in 2010–11. Among people living in rented homes, the mobility rate fell to an all-time low of 22.9 percent in 2015–16.

Mobility rate of total U.S. residents
2015–16: 11.2% (all-time low)
2010–11: 11.6%
2000–01: 14.2%

Mobility rate of people in owner-occupied homes
2015–16: 5.1%
2010–11: 4.7% (all-time low)
2000–01: 7.4%

Mobility rate of people in renter-occupied homes
2015–16: 22.9% (all-time low)
2010–11: 26.1%
2000–01: 30.3%

Source: Census Bureau, CPS Historical Migration/Geographic Mobility Tables

Still Stuck: Mobility Rate Near Record Low in 2014-15

Americans still aren't moving much. Only 11.6 percent of U.S. residents aged 1 or older as of March 2015 had moved in the previous 12 months, according to the Census Bureau. This mobility rate is just 0.1 percentage points above the all-time low of 11.5 percent recorded in 2013-14. The tiny increase was due to a bump up in movers from abroad.

Among homeowners, only 5.1 percent moved in the 2014-15 time period, higher than the all-time low of 4.7 percent in 2010-11. Among renters, the mobility rate fell to an all-time low of 24.0 percent in 2014-15. 

Source: Census Bureau, Migration/Geographic Mobility

Millions Want to Move

A substantial 9.6 percent of American households say they want to move, according to a Census Bureau study of residential mobility. But few actually follow through on that desire. With geographic mobility at a record low, the timing could not be better for an analysis of who wants to move and what they do about it.

Among the 11 million householders who said they wanted to move in 2010, only 18 percent actually moved in the following 12 months. And as fate would have it, millions of householders who did not express a desire to move in 2010 ended up moving, although at a lower rate (10 percent). Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the Census Bureau analyzed the characteristics of those who wanted to move in 2010 and those who did move in the following 12 months. Among the many characteristics examined in the report, age was one of the most important. Americans under age 35 are most likely to want to move (14.6 percent wanted to move in 2010), and they are also most likely to actually move (27.8 percent moved between 2010 and 2011). Many of the households that ended up moving, however, were not the ones who wanted to move, and many of those who wanted to move were in the same residence a year later. 

Many people change their minds about wanting to move. The 56 percent majority of those who said they wanted to move in 2010 but stayed put no longer expressed a desire to move when re-interviewed in 2011. "Desiring to move because of residential dissatisfaction appeared to be dynamic," explains the Census Bureau's Peter J. Mateyka, "with many respondents' reports of desiring to move changing one year later, despite living in the same residence."

Source: Census Bureau, Desire to Move and Residential Mobility: 2010-2011

Crossing the "Freedom Threshold"

When do people cross the "Freedom Threshold," able to choose where they want to live free from the constraints of work and family? According to a Merrill Lynch survey, they cross that threshold at age 61. The survey, conducted in partnership with Age Wave, examines the housing choices of retirees. Among the questions included in the survey, respondents were asked whether they agreed with the following two statements:

• Where I live is determined by life responsibilities, such as family or work obligations.
• At this point in my life, I am free to choose where I most want to live.

The percentage who feel free to choose where they want to live climbs above the 50 percent "Freedom Threshold" at age 61. Most people aged 61 or older feel free. Most younger do not. 

Source: Merrill Lynch, Home in Retirement: More Freedom, New Choices

Geographic Mobility, 2013-14

Many will be disappointed with the latest report on the nation's geographic mobility. Fewer Americans moved between 2013 and 2014 than in the previous year, and the mobility rate fell to a record low. Although the Census Bureau calls the trend in mobility "stable," the numbers are not good news for housing and other industries awaiting the return of the mobile American.

Only 11.5 percent of people aged 1 or older moved from one house to another between March 2013 and March 2014—an all-time low. The number who moved fell by 237,000 between 2012-13 and 2013-14. Here is the trend in the mobility rate since 2006-07, before the start of the Great Recession…

Geographic mobility rate
2013-14: 11.5%
2012-13: 11.7%
2011-12: 12.0%
2010-11: 11.6%
2009-10: 12.5%
2008-09: 12.5%
2007-08: 11.9%
2006-07: 13.2%

The mobility rate fell slightly for both homeowners and renters. Among homeowners, only 5.0 percent moved between 2013 and 2014. While this rate is above the record low of 4.7 percent recorded in the years 2010-11 and 2011-12, it remains far below the 7 to 9 percent that was typical in the the years prior to the Great Recession. Renters account for the 71 percent majority of movers. Among renters, 24.5 percent moved between 2013 and 2014, an all-time low. Before the Great Recession, the renter mobility rate typically exceeded 30 percent.

Source: Census Bureau, Geographic Mobility: 2013 to 2014