Moving industry statistics show a large but gradually less mobile U.S. population. The measures below cover residential mobility, move distance, interstate movement, regional flows, state rates, and the workforce proxy used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Key Moving Industry Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2019, 44,322,377 people age 1 and older in the 50 states and District of Columbia moved in the prior year, producing a 13.7% mover rate.
- In 2018, 45,452,496 people in the United States moved, equal to a 14.0% mover rate.
- In 2017, 46,073,420 people in the United States moved, equal to a 14.3% mover rate.
- In 2010, 47,076,259 people in the United States moved, equal to a 15.4% mover rate.
- In 2006, 49,667,179 people in the United States moved, equal to a 16.8% mover rate.
- In 2019, 24,512,131 U.S. movers changed residences within the same county, or 55.3% of movers.
- Same-county moves accounted for 61.3% of U.S. movers in 2010, the highest share in the 2006–2019 series.
- Same-county movers represented 7.6% of the U.S. population age 1+ in 2019 and 6.7% in 2021.
- Moves to another county within the same state represented 3.2% of the U.S. population age 1+ in 2019 and 3.3% in 2021.
- Moves to another state represented 2.3% of the U.S. population age 1+ in 2019 and 2.4% in 2021.
- In 2019, 17.4% of domestic movers moved between states, while 9.1% moved between Census regions.
- State-to-state movers increased from nearly 7.9 million people in 2021 to approximately 8.2 million in 2022.
- The national migration rate declined from 12.8% in 2021 to 12.6% in 2022.
- The South received about 1.6 million movers from other regions in 2019 and sent about 1.2 million to other regions.
- The District of Columbia had a 44.3% inmigration rate in 2022, with most inbound movers coming from Maryland.
- California’s mover rate was 12.0% in 2019, compared with 16.7% in 2006.
- Nevada’s mover rate was 17.6% in 2019, compared with 22.7% in 2006.
- BLS counted 6,917,800 hand laborers and material movers in May 2025, across a broad occupation that includes work beyond household moving.
- The May 2025 median annual wage for hand laborers and material movers was $38,220 in the United States.
- BLS projects about 904,200 openings per year from 2025 through 2035 for hand laborers and material movers.
Contents
- Key Moving Industry Statistics
- Annual U.S. Moving Industry Statistics and Long-Term Trends
- Residential Move Distance and Type Statistics
- Interstate Moving Statistics and Regional Mobility
- State Moving Rates and Mobility Differences
- Moving Workforce Pay, Jobs, and Outlook
Annual U.S. Moving Industry Statistics and Long-Term Trends
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) defines a mover as a person age 1 or older who lived in a different residence one year earlier. That definition measures residential mobility, not paid moving-company shipments, industry revenue, or the number of truckloads handled.
The long-run series shows a steady reduction in both the number and share of people moving between 2006 and 2019. The 2008 figure is an internal calculation consistent with ACS tables and carries additional rounding.
| Year | People who moved | Mover rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 49,667,179 | 16.8% |
| 2007 | 47,519,317 | 16.0% |
| 2008 | 46,770,000 | 15.6% |
| 2010 | 47,076,259 | 15.4% |
| 2013 | 46,971,429 | 15.0% |
| 2016 | 46,701,858 | 14.6% |
| 2019 | 44,322,377 | 13.7% |
Source: Migration in the United States: 2006 to 2019, Census Bureau, ACS 1-year estimates. The 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 observations are also reported in that source: 46,786,353 movers in 2009; 46,812,394 in 2011; 46,600,159 in 2012; 46,947,768 in 2014; 46,762,323 in 2015; 46,073,420 in 2017; and 45,452,496 in 2018.
The corresponding rates were 15.4% in 2009, 15.2% in 2011, 15.0% in 2012, 14.9% in 2014, 14.7% in 2015, 14.3% in 2017, and 14.0% in 2018. These values describe the U.S. population age 1+ in the 50 states and D.C.
Residential Move Distance and Type Statistics
Most residential moves are local when “local” means within the same county. Same-county moves were 59.0% of movers in 2006, reached 61.3% in 2010, and stood at 60.9% in 2009.
By 2019, the same-county share was 55.3%, representing 24,512,131 people, with a margin of error of 165,629. The Census measure is based on residence one year earlier and includes moves made for many reasons, not only moves booked with a professional company.
The Census Bureau’s comparison of 2019 and 2021 uses the total population age 1+ as the denominator for these percentages:
| Move type | 2019 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Same county | 7.6% of population; about 25 million people | 6.7%; about 22 million people |
| Different county, same state | 3.2% | 3.3% |
| Different state | 2.3% | 2.4% |
| From abroad | 0.6% | 0.5% |
Source: Share of Americans Who Said They Moved Declined Between 2019 and 2021. The abroad category includes movers from abroad and is not a domestic moving-company measure.
The denominator matters: percentages of the population age 1+ should not be read as percentages of movers. Likewise, the same-county share among movers and the same-county share among the whole population answer different questions.
Interstate Moving Statistics and Regional Mobility
Interstate movement is a smaller component of all residential mobility than local movement, but it is central to long-distance moving demand. In 2019, 17.4% of domestic movers moved between states, while 9.1% moved between Census regions.
Domestic movers exclude people moving from abroad. The Census report found 8.5% of domestic movers moving between regions in 2006, and 16.6% moving between states; the between-state share reached a low of 14.9% in 2010.
The between-region share was 9.1% in both 2018 and 2019, and the report marked that year-to-year change as not statistically significant. That caution is important when interpreting small annual movements in a mobility rate.
The newer state-to-state series shows a modest increase in the estimated number of interstate movers:
- State-to-state movers rose from nearly 7.9 million in 2021 to approximately 8.2 million in 2022 in the United States.
- State-to-state movers increased from 18.8% to 19.9% of all movers between 2021 and 2022.
- The overall national migration rate declined from 12.8% in 2021 to 12.6% in 2022.
Source: Number and Percentage of State-to-State Movers Increased Between 2021 and 2022. These are ACS 1-year estimates, and the state-to-state rate’s all-movers denominator includes moves from Puerto Rico and abroad.
Regional flows also show why total mover counts and net migration should be separated. The South had about 17.9 million movers overall in 2019, received about 1.6 million movers from other regions, and sent about 1.2 million to other regions, producing a reported approximate net gain of 381,000 people from interregional migration.
State Moving Rates and Mobility Differences
State mover rates vary substantially, and the 2006-to-2019 comparison shows lower rates in every listed state. The figures below are ACS mover rates for the population age 1+.
| State | 2006 mover rate | 2019 mover rate |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 21.1% | 16.1% |
| Colorado | 20.4% | 17.6% |
| Idaho | 21.7% | 16.2% |
| Nevada | 22.7% | 17.6% |
| Utah | 21.7% | 15.8% |
| Wyoming | 19.4% | 17.4% |
| California | 16.7% | 12.0% |
| Alaska | 21.9% | 15.6% |
Source: Migration in the United States: 2006 to 2019. Wyoming’s 2019 margin of error was 1.4 percentage points, and Alaska’s was 1.1 percentage points.
The 2019 rates range from 12.0% in California to 17.6% in Colorado and Nevada among these examples. The figures are population mobility rates, not the share of residents hiring professional movers.
The District of Columbia is reported differently in the 2022 state-to-state comparison: its inmigration rate was 44.3% of the District’s total movers. Most inbound D.C. movers came from Maryland, and this measure should not be compared directly with the ACS state mover rates in the table.
Moving Workforce Pay, Jobs, and Outlook
BLS does not present hand laborers and material movers as a household-moving-only occupation. Its profile includes freight, stock, packaging, cleaning, warehouse, and other material-moving work, so these figures are a broad labor-market proxy rather than a count of moving-company employees.
In May 2025, BLS counted 6,917,800 hand laborers and material movers in the United States. The occupation’s median annual wage was $38,220, while the lowest-paid 10% earned below $30,190 and the highest-paid 10% earned above $52,340.
Industry-specific median pay for the same broad occupation was higher in transportation and warehousing than in the other listed industries:
| Industry | Median annual pay, May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Transportation and warehousing | $44,710 |
| Wholesale trade | $41,600 |
| Manufacturing | $41,370 |
Source: Hand Laborers and Material Movers: Occupational Outlook Handbook. These are 2025 U.S. dollars and cover the broader occupation, not household movers alone.
BLS projects 4% employment growth for hand laborers and material movers from 2025 to 2035. It also projects about 904,200 openings per year over that period, including replacement needs rather than only newly created jobs.
Typical on-the-job training lasts one month or less. That training statistic describes the occupational profile and is not a measure of the training quality or safety procedures of any particular moving company.