Residential mobility measures how many people change residence, where they go, and how moving patterns differ across households. U.S. estimates vary by survey and period: annual measures usually compare a person’s residence one year earlier, while historical comparisons may cover five years.
Key Residential Mobility Statistics
The most useful headline measures span recent annual estimates, historical five-year rates, destinations, tenure, and demographic differences:
- In 2024, 11.8% of the U.S. population lived in a different residence one year earlier, down from 12.1% in 2023.
- In 2022, 8.7% of the eligible U.S. population moved, compared with 8.4% in 2021.
- The 2022 CPS ASEC estimated about 28.2 million U.S. movers, versus about 27.1 million in 2021.
- The ACS counted about 44.3 million people who moved during the year ending in 2019 in the United States.
- The U.S. five-year mover rate reached 45.6% for 1970–1975 among people age 5 and older.
- The five-year U.S. mover rate was 35.4% for 2005–2010 among people age 5 and older.
- In 2024, 8.9% of the U.S. population moved within the same state.
- In 2024, 2.1% moved to a different state, down from 2.3% in 2023.
- During 2005–2010, 21.6% of people age 5 and older moved within the same county.
- During 2005–2010, 5.6% of people age 5 and older moved to a different state.
- Historical decennial recent-mover rates were 38% to 42% for renters from 1960 through 2000.
- Historical decennial recent-mover rates were 9% to 12% for owners from 1960 through 2000.
- In 2021, 5.380 million homeowners planned to move within 12 months.
- In 2021, 14.375 million renters planned to move within 12 months.
- People in their mid-to-late twenties had a 65.5% five-year mover rate in 2005–2010.
- Unemployed people had a 47.7% five-year mover rate in 2005–2010.
- Housing-related reasons accounted for 16.4 million movers, or 43.7% of movers, between 2009 and 2010.
- The South had a net migration gain of 1.1 million people between 2005 and 2010, the only statistically significant regional gain in that comparison.
Contents
- Annual mover rates and long-term trends
- Move distance and geographic destination data
- Tenure and housing status
- Age, work, and household characteristics
- Reasons and housing decisions
- Race, region, and migration balance
Residential Mobility Statistics: Annual Rates and Long-Term Trends
Recent U.S. surveys show a lower annual mover rate than several historical five-year measures, but the measures are not interchangeable. The American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) generally identify people living in a different residence one year earlier, while five-year figures compare residence at two points over a longer interval.
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates reported that 11.8% of the U.S. population lived in a different residence one year earlier in 2024, compared with 12.1% in 2023. The 2020 ACS 1-year figure is omitted from the displayed trend because of pandemic nonresponse.
The Census Bureau’s 2022 mover analysis put the CPS ASEC mover rate at 8.7% in 2022, statistically unchanged from 8.4% in 2021. It estimated about 28.2 million movers in 2022 versus about 27.1 million in 2021, and the difference was not statistically significant.
| Measure | Period | Result | Population or universe |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACS annual mover share | 2024 | 11.8% | U.S. population |
| CPS ASEC mover rate | 2022 | 8.7% | Eligible U.S. population |
| CPS ASEC estimated movers | 2022 | 28.2 million | U.S. movers |
| ACS estimated movers | Year ending 2019 | 44.3 million | U.S. people living elsewhere one year earlier |
The ACS report on migration from 2006 to 2019 counted about 44.3 million people who moved during the year ending in 2019. Its definition is residence different from one year earlier.
Historical five-year comparisons show a different scale. The Census report Geographical Mobility: 2005 to 2010 identified a 45.6% mover rate for 1970–1975, 41.7% for 1980–1985, and 44.1% for 1990–1995 among people age 5 and older.
The same historical series reported 39.5% for 2000–2005 and 35.4% for 2005–2010. The 2005–2010 estimate covered 282.846 million people age 5 and older and identified 100.152 million movers; the comparable 2000–2005 estimate covered 270.904 million people and identified 107.012 million movers.
Residential Mobility Data by Move Distance and Destination
Annual and five-year destination measures show that many moves remain local, while interstate and international moves represent smaller shares of the eligible population. The denominator matters: a percentage of all people is not the same as a percentage of movers.
In 2024, the ACS estimated that 8.9% of the U.S. population moved to a different residence within the same state. Another 2.1% moved to a different state, down from 2.3% in 2023.
These are ACS 1-year estimates of the total population, not shares only among movers.
For the 2005–2010 five-year period, the Census mobility report reported these shares among people age 5 and older:
- 21.6% moved within the same county, up from 20.4% in the 2000–2005 comparison.
- 6.7% moved to a different county within the same state.
- 5.6% moved to a different state.
- 1.5% moved to the United States from abroad, down from 2.3% in the 2000–2005 comparison.
The combined share moving to a different county within the same state or to a different state fell from 16.9% in 2000–2005 to 12.3% in 2005–2010. Among 2005–2010 movers, 61.0% moved within the same county, while 15.7% came from a different state, down from 19.7% among 2000–2005 movers.
Residential Mobility Statistics by Tenure and Housing Status
Tenure is strongly associated with mobility, but the historical owner and renter figures below use a housing-unit measure rather than a person-level annual mover rate. The Census Bureau’s Historical Census of Housing Tables: Recent Movers defines a recent mover as a householder who moved during the 15 months before the decennial census.
From the 1960–2000 decennial series, recent-mover rates ranged from 38% to 42% for renter-occupied housing units and from 9% to 12% for owner-occupied housing units. These ranges should not be combined directly with ACS or CPS person-level rates because the denominators differ.
The 2021 American Housing Survey captured intended moves rather than completed moves. The Census Bureau’s housing profile reported:
| Tenure group | Planned move within 12 months | Intended destination detail |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners | 5.380 million | 38.3% planned a different city |
| Renters | 14.375 million | 39.3% planned a different neighborhood in the same city |
The 2021 AHS estimates describe plans, not realized residential moves. They show separate homeowner and renter planning universes rather than a single completed-mobility rate.
Residential Mobility by Age, Work, and Household Characteristics
Mobility varies sharply by age. In the 1990–1995 Census mobility report, five-year moving rates were 55.0% for children age 5–9, 45.5% for ages 10–14, 41.7% for ages 15–19, 62.9% for ages 20–24, 74.7% for ages 25–29, and 63.2% for ages 30–34; the rate was 50.3% for ages 35–39.
The later 2005–2010 Census report found a 65.5% five-year mover rate for people in their mid-to-late twenties. It also reported a 47.7% rate for unemployed people and 37.2% for employed civilians.
These work-status figures describe status at survey time, while the five-year outcome covers residence at two points. They indicate different mobility levels across groups without proving that employment status caused a move.
Residential Mobility Reasons and Housing Decisions
The reasons people give for moving provide a different lens from destination statistics. In the Census Bureau’s 2009–2010 release, housing-related reasons accounted for 16.4 million movers, or 43.7% of movers.
For 2022, the Census Bureau’s CPS ASEC analysis classified 20 specific reasons into four groups: housing, family, employment, and other. Moving within the same county was the most common of the four major move types in 2022.
The same source reported that the share of movers coming from abroad rose from 2.3% in 2021 to 4.9% in 2022. The combined share of moves between counties within the same state and between states rose from 39.3% in 2021 to 41.7% in 2022; pandemic-era travel conditions and survey comparability affect interpretation.
Residential Mobility Statistics by Race, Region, and Migration Balance
The 2009–2010 Census release reported different mover rates across its race and Hispanic-origin categories. The measures below follow the release’s definitions, and Hispanic origin can be any race.
| Population category | Mover rate, 2009–2010 |
|---|---|
| Black alone | 16.7% |
| Hispanic | 15.6% |
| Asian alone | 13.9% |
| White alone, non-Hispanic | 10.8% |
The 2009–2010 Census release identified the Black-alone population as having the highest reported rate among the listed groups. Categories are not all mutually exclusive because Hispanic origin is separately defined.
Regional migration balance also differs. The 2005–2010 Census report found that the South was the only U.S. region with a statistically significant net migration gain in that period, at 1.1 million people.
For 1990–1995, the Census historical report covered 241.7 million people age 5 and older and identified 106.6 million movers. Among those movers, 56.7% moved within the same county, 20.0% moved to a different county within the same state, 18.5% moved between states, and 4.9% came to the United States from abroad.
The 1990–1995 and 2005–2010 figures are historical comparisons, not current forecasts. Across the full set of measures, residential mobility is best interpreted by keeping the survey, period, denominator, geography, and one-year or five-year definition attached to every statistic.