45 Million Americans Move Each Year-Where do they go?

[haha]

Where Americans Are Moving - Business Insider

I hope this explains itself, but in case not, this shows which states are are winning and losing population. And a few random observations.

Ha

 

[Texas Proud]

Heck, I didn't know that Houston was a state....


from the article (my bold) :

"Americans are moving to Florida, Nevada, Houston and Kentucky, according to this infographic"

 

[NW-Bound]

Interesting! This is a good thread which complements the concurrent threads about what climate that people like.

People are moving out of several Northeastern states, no surprise there from climate consideration, but also California! Who wouldda thunk?

And they are moving to the Southwest. They obviously have not heard of chiggers, rattle snakes, Gila monsters, scorpions, and such. And also Louisiana. Not even Katrina scares them. What is happening here?

 

[MichaelB]

Interesting! This is a good thread which complements the concurrent threads about what climate that people like.

People are moving out of several Northeastern states, no surprise there from climate consideration, but also California! Who wouldda thunk?

And they are moving to the Southwest. They obviously have not heard of chiggers, rattle snakes, Gila monsters, scorpions, and such. And also Louisiana. Not even Katrina scares them. What is happening here?

I'm betting it's retirement.

 

[NW-Bound]

Do chiggers, rattle snakes, scorpions spare old retirees? I guess REWahoo's warning was not sufficiently advertised. And do hurricanes like Katrina respect elderly people?

I also saw that many Californians moved to Texas. This reminded me of a cousin who moved from the LA area to Texas (can't remember if it was Dallas or Houston). He sold his house for quite a bit of money, got a bigger and better house in Texas for cash due to the lower cost of RE, and still had money left over for new furniture. After just a few months, his wife complained bitterly, and he had to move back.

Then, I heard that after renting for a few years, the housing crash in California enabled my cousin to get back into a house better than what he had originally. Interesting how it happened to work out for them.

 

[foxfirev5]

While not a native I've found Michigan to actually to be quite nice. In the interest of full disclosure, my income does not come from this state at all. Excellent medical care, education and moderate cost of living are keeping me here. Lots of recreational opportunities as well. I believe we'll keep this as our retirement home base. DTW airport provides a quick efficient escape when the winter winds start to howl.
However, I can see the reasons for departure as well. The employment situation and an uncompetitive manufacturing environment are the other side of the coin.

 

[packrat44]

Looks like Retirees looking for either: lower cost of living; lower taxes; warmer weather; slower pace of living; or some combination of the four.

 

[NW-Bound]

The above, except for the weather, were what my cousin was looking for. But after moving from the LA area to Texas, I think what his wife was complaining about might be one or several things listed in the following post: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/leaving-long-island-for-texas-56347.html#post1075266.

PS. I was just telling a true story about my cousin. I have absolutely no desire to move to either the Los Angeles area or somewhere in Texas. I'd prefer to stay where I am now, where we got the record heat of 122F (50C) in the summer (it's just dry heat!). Egads, the linked article shows that people are moving here too. People are dropping like flies from the heat, but nobody seems to care.

 

[scrabbler1]

California being a population loser did not shock me. For the first time (2010 census) since the 1860 census, California did not gain representation in the U.S. House (or electoral college), maintaining its 53 seats.

Gee, (old) people still moving from New York to Florida. Call Ripleys!

 

[haha]

I'm betting it's retirement.

Maybe from NY to FL and some of the other north to south moves, but many and likely most migrants from CA to TX are tech workers who can find good jobs and much lower cost of living as well and reasonably good cultural fit in large metros such as DFW. When my brother lived near Fort Worth, a huge number of his neighbors were recent tech-worker migrants from coastal California. His neighbors on both sides were gay male couples who worked in information fields, and came from the Bay Area.

Ha

 

[W2R]

And also Louisiana. Not even Katrina scares them. What is happening here?

Perhaps this reflects the ongoing migration home of New Orleans residents who left during the post-Katrina diaspora.

 

[packrat44]

The above, except for the weather, were what my cousin was looking for. But after moving from the LA area to Texas, I think what his wife was complaining about might be one or several things listed in the following post: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/leaving-long-island-for-texas-56347.html#post1075266.

Rather like: fast; good; cheap cars. You can buy a new car that is fast and good; good and cheap; or fast and cheap. But you can not buy a new car that is fast; good; AND cheap.

 

[Purron]

I suspect many are moving where the jobs are.

 

[FUEGO]

Maybe from NY to FL and some of the other north to south moves, but many and likely most migrants from CA to TX are tech workers who can find good jobs and much lower cost of living as well and reasonably good cultural fit in large metros such as DFW. When my brother lived near Fort Worth, a huge number of his neighbors were recent tech-worker migrants from coastal California. His neihbors on both sides were gay male couples who worked in information fields, and came from the Bay Area.

I went to school with a bunch of people who left my southeastern US state to go to California for high tech jobs when they were single and/or childless. Then they decided to start families and realized that sunny CA was less awesome for starting families due to the cost of living (housing mainly). They quickly found slightly higher salaries didn't offset the huge cost of living difference of either buying a house in a good area or private schooling for kids if they lived in a mediocre area.

 

[Htown Harry]

I believe this has been posted before, but this is a cool interactive "migration map" that shows much more specific, disaggregated data down to the county level.

American Migration [Interactive Map] - Forbes

 

[Texas Proud]

From what I see, they are moving from the high tax states with big debts to lower tax states with less debt...

 

[Calico]

I could have sworn all 45 million were moving to my neck of the woods. Guess not. My state isn't listed as one of the top destinations.

 

[walkinwood]

I wonder how many of the 45 million are college students and people at the very start of their careers who move from apartment to apartment in the same city as their salaries increase.

 

[KingB]

I saw Illinois in the Top 10 of states that people are moving from. No surprise - even some of its ex-governors are moving to other states.

 

[eridanus]

From what I see, they are moving from the high tax states with big debts to lower tax states with less debt...

I don't see that trend.

State of Texas Debt Clock

ME, CT, and MN (pop losers) look pretty good compared to TX, which looks good compared to IL and NY and MA. OR is a pop gainer and its debt is ~ to CA's debt and it also has high taxes.

The more obvious trend relates to temperature as the boomers age.

 

[NW-Bound]

Texas is 3rd in terms of state budget deficit, even worse than California.

Deficit as % of 2011 spending

1 NV 45.20
2 NJ 37.40
3 TX 31.50
4 CA 29.30
5 OR 25.00
6 MN 23.60
7 LA 20.70
8 NY 18.70
9 CT 18.00
10 SC 17.40

I saw somewhere that North and South Dakota, along with Montana, are the states with low or no state budget deficits, and with low personal taxes to boot.

Come on up! My RV trips have taken me through those states. Lots of free open space. One can ride his horse for days.

 

[scrabbler1]

I wonder how many of the 45 million are college students and people at the very start of their careers who move from apartment to apartment in the same city as their salaries increase.

Although not because my salary increased a lot (which it did at the time), I did move 5 times in less than 24 months from the time I finished college. All the places I lived were within 35 miles of each other (NYC area) and the last 3 in that time (as well as where I live now) are within 20 miles of each other and in the came county.

 

[NW-Bound]

Lots of truth about many of the movers being college students or people in the early years of their career. I recently saw somewhere that only 1.8% of workers moved after they retired.

I used to think I would move somewhere (is it not in my screenname?), but it is most likely I will die where I am now. Too tired to move... Too much baggage to jettison or to carry... And for what? I can always visit these places with my RV, or to catch a flight if it involves crossing some ocean. An exciting location might just stop being so after one lives there for a while.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK, I found the article that said only 1.6% of retirees moved across state lines.

In 2010, just 1.6 percent of retirees between age 55 and 65 moved across state lines, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Richard Johnson, director of retirement policy research at The Urban Institute.

And even among retirees who do move across state lines, migration patterns have shifted in recent years, Johnson says. In 1990, more than one in four retirees between age 55 to 65 who did relocate across a state line moved to Florida -- and seven of the top cities for migrating retirees were in the sunshine state. Florida remains the most popular destination, but it only attracted one in seven of retirees between 2005 and 2010.

"Americans are moving to cities all over the country today when they retire," he says. The most popular destinations now include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas and Phoenix, but New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago also attract many retirees.​

 

[plex]

Gotta hussle to build up that resume at first, it is the only way to have a good amount of job options.

Moved 4 times a year between 18-22, once a year between 24-28, and plan to move once between 30-31 to a very telework friendly/very early retirement location (of which there are not a lot of options, I could only figure out a few, Chattanooga, Tampa, and Seattle, thinking about making a thread about it). After that, I don't plan to move again for ~30 years, and that move will be the final one to a good senior retirement state, of which there are a lot of options.