Moving is a large but changing part of life in the United States. Census estimates count people age 1 and older who lived in a different residence one year earlier, reaching 44,322,377 movers in 2019 and about 40 million in 2023.
Key Moving Statistics
The following figures summarize the scale, geography, and changing patterns of residential mobility in the United States:
- In 2019, 44,322,377 people age 1 and older moved within the prior year in the 50 states and District of Columbia, a 13.7% mover rate.
- In 2023, approximately 40 million of the 331 million U.S. residents age 1 and older moved to a new residence within the prior year, a 12.1% rate.
- In 2019, 7.5% of the U.S. population age 1 and older moved within the same county, representing 55.3% of movers.
- In 2019, 3.2% of the U.S. population age 1 and older moved to another county within the same state, representing 23.7% of movers.
- In 2019, 2.3% of the U.S. population age 1 and older moved to another state, representing 16.7% of movers.
- In 2019, 0.6% of the U.S. population age 1 and older moved to the United States from abroad, representing 4.3% of movers.
- In 2019, 3,872,931 domestic movers had lived in a different Census region one year earlier, equal to 9.1% of domestic movers.
- In 2019, the South recorded net domestic regional migration of 380,650 people, while the Northeast recorded a net loss of 295,453.
- Between 2019 and 2021, the national mover rate fell from about 14% to roughly 13% among people age 1 and older.
- Between 2019 and 2021, same-county moving fell from 7.6% to 6.7% of the U.S. population age 1 and older.
- In 2021, about 22 million people moved within the same county, down from roughly 25 million in 2019.
- Between 2019 and 2021, the share moving to another county within the same state rose from 3.2% to 3.3% of the U.S. population age 1 and older.
- Between 2019 and 2021, the share moving to another state rose from 2.3% to 2.4% of the U.S. population age 1 and older.
- The share of movers returning to their state of birth rose from 4.2% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2021 among cross-state return-home movers.
- In 2022, return-home movers represented 5.0% of movers in the United States.
- In 2023, return-home movers represented 4.9% of movers, a result not significantly different from 2022.
- In 2023, more than 7.5 million people made interstate moves, equal to 2.3% of the U.S. population age 1 and older.
- In 2023, interstate movers accounted for 18.9% of movers residing in the United States.
Contents
- Long-term U.S. moving trends
- Moving statistics by distance and type
- Regional and state-border migration
- Moving during the 2019–2021 pandemic period
- Age and return-home moving patterns
- 2023 interstate moving statistics
- Administrative address-change measures
Long-Term U.S. Moving Trends
The American Community Survey (ACS) defines a mover as a person age 1 or older living in a different residence one year earlier. This is a residential-mobility measure, not a count of moving-company jobs, trucks, or household possessions.
| Year | Movers | Mover rate, population age 1+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 44,322,377 | 13.7% |
| 2016 | 46,701,858 | 14.6% |
| 2013 | 46,971,429 | 15.0% |
| 2010 | 47,076,259 | 15.4% |
| 2007 | 47,519,317 | 16.0% |
| 2006 | 49,667,179 | 16.8% |
The long-run series shows a lower mover rate in 2019 than in 2006. Intermediate ACS estimates were 46,762,323 movers and 14.7% in 2015, 46,073,420 and 14.3% in 2017, and 45,452,496 and 14.0% in 2018.
The series also reports 46,947,768 movers and a 14.9% rate in 2014; 46,600,159 and 15.0% in 2012; 46,812,394 and 15.2% in 2011; 46,786,353 and 15.4% in 2009; and 46,770,000 and 15.6% in 2008. The 2008 figure uses internal calculations consistent with ACS 2009 tables and is subject to additional rounding.
Source: Migration in the United States: 2006 to 2019. These are ACS 1-year estimates with sampling and nonsampling error.
Moving Statistics by Distance and Type
Most 2019 moves were local. The ACS categories are based on the current residence and the residence occupied one year earlier, so they describe geographic transitions rather than the physical distance traveled.
| 2019 move type | Population age 1+ | Share of movers |
|---|---|---|
| Same county | 7.5% | 55.3% |
| Different county, same state | 3.2% | 23.7% |
| Different state | 2.3% | 16.7% |
| From abroad | 0.6% | 4.3% |
The same pattern appears in earlier observations, although the shares differ. In 2010, same-county moves were 9.4% of the population and 61.3% of movers; moves to another county in the same state were 3.2% and 20.7%; interstate moves were 2.2% and 14.3%; and moves from abroad were 0.6% and 3.7%.
In 2006, same-county moves were 9.9% of the population and 59.0% of movers. Different-county, same-state moves were 3.6% and 21.2%, interstate moves were 2.7% and 16.0%, and moves from abroad were 0.6% and 3.8%.
Source: Migration in the United States: 2006 to 2019.
Regional and State-Border Migration
In 2019, the United States recorded 42,412,185 domestic movers, excluding people who moved from abroad. Of those domestic movers, 3,872,931 had lived in a different Census region one year earlier, equal to 9.1%.
| Census region, 2019 | Domestic movers | Cross-region movers | Cross-region share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 5,971,548 | 545,589 | 9.1% |
| Midwest | 8,919,597 | 772,240 | 8.7% |
| South | 17,093,725 | 1,603,243 | 9.4% |
| West | 10,427,315 | 951,859 | 9.1% |
The South had the largest domestic-mover count and the highest listed cross-region share. Net domestic regional migration was +380,650 in the South, compared with -295,453 in the Northeast and -96,874 in the Midwest.
The West recorded net domestic regional migration of +11,677 people, but the source reports that this result did not differ statistically from zero. Regional-flow tables use domestic movers, a different universe from the total mover rate.
Source: Migration in the United States: 2006 to 2019.
Moving During the 2019–2021 Pandemic Period
The national mover rate fell from about 14% in 2019 to roughly 13% in 2021. This comparison should not be treated as a clean pandemic-start/end experiment because the 2021 ACS includes some moves made before March 2020.
Same-county moving fell from 7.6% of the population age 1 and older in 2019 to 6.7% in 2021. The corresponding rounded count fell from roughly 25 million to about 22 million people.
Longer moves moved differently: the share relocating to another county within the same state rose from 3.2% to 3.3%, while the share moving to another state rose from 2.3% to 2.4%.
Mover rates fell across community types. Metro areas declined from 13.8% in 2019 to 13.0% in 2021, micropolitan areas from 13.6% to 12.2%, and nonmetro or nonmicropolitan areas from 11.4% to 10.4%.
Source: Share of Americans Who Said They Moved Declined Between 2019 and 2021.
Age and Return-Home Moving Patterns
Return-home movers are a subset of movers who lived outside their birth state and returned to it. This definition is narrower than simply moving back to a former address or moving within one’s hometown.
The return-home share rose from 4.2% of movers in 2019 to 4.7% in 2021, reached 5.0% in 2022, and was 4.9% in 2023. The 2023 result was not significantly different from 2022.
Age differences are visible in the available estimates:
- Among movers under 18, the return-home share rose from 4.8% in 2019 to 6.4% in 2022.
- Among movers ages 25–44, the share rose from 4.1% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2022.
- Among movers ages 45–64, the share rose from 3.8% in 2019 to 4.3% in 2021.
- Among movers age 65 and older, the share was 4.9% in 2021 and was not significantly different in 2022 or 2023.
2023 Interstate Moving Statistics
The 2023 ACS estimated that approximately 40 million of the 331 million U.S. residents age 1 and older moved within the prior year, a 12.1% rate. More than 7.5 million made interstate moves, equal to 2.3% of the population age 1 and older and 18.9% of movers residing in the United States.
State inflow counts and population shares tell different stories. Washington, D.C., received almost 57,000 interstate in-movers, equal to 8.5% of its roughly 670,000 residents age 1 and older, while California received around 422,000, equal to 1.1% of nearly 39 million residents.
Other 2023 domestic-inflow measures included 4.4% of North Dakota’s population and 4.2% of Alaska’s population. Colorado had around 233,000 domestic in-movers, equal to 4.0% of its population, while New York had roughly 303,000 interstate in-movers, equal to 1.6% of its 19.4 million residents.
Administrative Address-Change Measures
Administrative address changes provide a related but non-interchangeable view of mobility. A Census working paper linking USPS National Change of Address data with survey records found that postal address changes increased 2% from 2019 to 2020, representing 603,000 additional moves.
Among linked ACS householders with a permanent USPS address change during the survey reference period, about 68% also reported living in a different residence one year earlier. The comparable agreement figure for linked CPS-ASEC householders was 49%.
These results measure agreement between administrative records and survey responses, not a population mover rate. Address changes are therefore not identical to ACS-reported residential moves.
Source: Survey and administrative internal migration estimates during the COVID-19 pandemic.