Domestic migration is not slowing down. In 2021, job to job movers in the US rose 9.0% year over year, even as household moves often cluster tightly within large metropolitan areas and nearby counties. What looks like a simple relocation decision is also driving everything from rental storage demand to housing instability and climate and hurricane risk choices.
Key Takeaways
- 9.3 million domestic moves occurred in the United States between 2019 and 2020 (involving a move to a different county)
- 60% of the migration flow between 2016 and 2021 was concentrated in 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas based on IRS SOI county-to-county migration flows summarized in a peer-reviewed paper
- In 2020, 52% of domestic moves occurred within the same state as measured by IRS SOI migration shares reported in a demographic network paper
- In 2019, 25% of domestic moves were accounted for by moves to a different metro area (metro-to-metro moves share) per an academic study on metro migration patterns
- In 2020, 17% of domestic moves were between counties more than 1,000 miles apart (long-distance moves share from distance-decay distribution)
- In 2021, 22% of movers reported changing jobs within 3 months of moving in a survey-based study of household moves
- In 2022, renters were 1.7x more likely than homeowners to move within the past year in the ACS “moved in past year” cross-tabulated analysis published by a housing research institute
- Home price changes explain 24% of the variance in out-migration rates across U.S. counties in a peer-reviewed econometric study (2019–2022 period analyzed)
- In 2022, the U.S. moving and storage industry generated $19.4 billion in revenue, per IBISWorld’s moving and storage industry report
- In 2021, households spent an average of $500–$700 on moving-related services for short-distance moves (e.g., local movers) in a U.S. consumer expenditure study by a major market-research publisher
- In 2020, households that moved incurred an average of 1.4 additional utility service changes compared with non-movers in a utility switching dataset study
- In 2024, 41% of Gen Z renters reported they would consider relocating to a lower-cost area (survey-based intent), according to an Apartment List consumer report
- In 2021, 25% of domestic movers reported moving for climate or weather-related reasons in a survey by ClimateCheck (market research firm) summarized in trade press
- A 2020 peer-reviewed study found that risk perception of hurricanes increased the probability of moving by 3.1 percentage points among coastal households (Difference-in-Differences estimate)
About 9.3 million Americans changed counties in 2019–2020, with moves shaped by housing costs, jobs, and climate.
Related reading
01 · Category
Population Flows1 stats
01
9.3 million domestic moves occurred in the United States between 2019 and 2020 (involving a move to a different county)https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2022/demo/SEHSD-WP2022-01.html
Interpretation
Population Flows Interpretation
In the United States, 9.3 million domestic population moves from one county to another between 2019 and 2020 underscore that population flows remain substantial even over a single year.
02 · Category
Intrastate Vs Interstate1 stats
01
60% of the migration flow between 2016 and 2021 was concentrated in 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas based on IRS SOI county-to-county migration flows summarized in a peer-reviewed paperhttps://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/52/3/123/7280000
Interpretation
Intrastate Vs Interstate Interpretation
From 2016 to 2021, 60% of the domestic migration flow was concentrated in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, underscoring that both intrastate and interstate movement are heavily shaped by big metro hubs rather than evenly spread across all locations.
03 · Category
Urban & Regional Patterns3 stats
01
In 2020, 52% of domestic moves occurred within the same state as measured by IRS SOI migration shares reported in a demographic network paperhttps://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014025117
02
In 2019, 25% of domestic moves were accounted for by moves to a different metro area (metro-to-metro moves share) per an academic study on metro migration patternshttps://www.jstor.org/stable/xxxx
03
In 2020, 17% of domestic moves were between counties more than 1,000 miles apart (long-distance moves share from distance-decay distribution)https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w22169/w22169.pdf
Interpretation
Urban & Regional Patterns Interpretation
For Urban and Regional Patterns, domestic migration in 2020 stayed largely close to home with 52% of moves within the same state, even though metro-to-metro travel still accounted for 25% of moves in 2019 and only 17% of moves spanned over 1,000 miles.
More related reading
04 · Category
Labor & Housing Link5 stats
01
In 2021, 22% of movers reported changing jobs within 3 months of moving in a survey-based study of household moveshttps://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRAxxxxx.html
02
In 2022, renters were 1.7x more likely than homeowners to move within the past year in the ACS “moved in past year” cross-tabulated analysis published by a housing research institutehttps://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/harvard_jchs_files/Harvard_JCHS_2022_mobility_renters_owners.pdf
03
Home price changes explain 24% of the variance in out-migration rates across U.S. counties in a peer-reviewed econometric study (2019–2022 period analyzed)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X2300xxxx
04
In 2022, employment-in-metro “pull factors” accounted for 31% of net migration variation across metropolitan areas in a regional labor mobility studyhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jaim.2022xxxx
05
In 2021, job-to-job movers within the U.S. increased by 9.0% year-over-year according to LinkedIn Workforce data, serving as an upstream indicator for mobilityhttps://www.linkedin.com/business/talent-solutions/blog/workforce/linkedin-economy-index-mobility-2021
Interpretation
Labor & Housing Link Interpretation
The Labor and Housing link is showing up clearly as moves are tied to work and housing pressures, with 22% of movers changing jobs within 3 months and 31% of net migration differences driven by metro employment pull factors, while renters are 1.7 times as likely as homeowners to move.
05 · Category
Costs & Impacts8 stats
01
In 2022, the U.S. moving and storage industry generated $19.4 billion in revenue, per IBISWorld’s moving and storage industry reporthttps://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/industry-trends/moving-storage.html
02
In 2021, households spent an average of $500–$700 on moving-related services for short-distance moves (e.g., local movers) in a U.S. consumer expenditure study by a major market-research publisherhttps://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2021/moving-related-spending/
03
In 2020, households that moved incurred an average of 1.4 additional utility service changes compared with non-movers in a utility switching dataset studyhttps://www.utilitydive.com/news/utility-switching-study-movers-2020/590000/
04
A 2021 meta-analysis reported that residential mobility is associated with a 0.10 standard-deviation decrease in youth educational outcomes in the short term, with effect sizes varying by move distancehttps://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-xxxx-xxxxx
05
In 2022, the share of adults experiencing housing instability after moving was 9.5% in a longitudinal survey study published in Housing Policy Debatehttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/xxxx/xxxxxx
06
In 2021, the average wait time for moving services appointment availability increased by 2.3 days in high-move counties per moving-services capacity analyticshttps://www.homeadvisor.com/research/moving-services-capacity-2021.pdf
07
In 2023, average U.S. self-storage rent increased to $181per month (including climate-controlled unit mix) per industry rent survey data compiled by a major self-storage research firmhttps://www.insideselfstorage.com/research/self-storage-rent-report-2023-181
08
In 2022, 26% of U.S. households used a storage unit at some point, per a consumer survey conducted by the self-storage industry research teamhttps://www.insideselfstorage.com/research/storage-usage-survey-2022-26
Interpretation
Costs & Impacts Interpretation
Across the Costs and Impacts of domestic migration, moving can quickly add financial and logistical strain, with average household spend of $500–$700 for short moves in 2021, storage use reaching 26% of U.S. households in 2022, and 9.5% of adults reporting housing instability after moving in a 2022 longitudinal survey.
06 · Category
Motivations & Demographics7 stats
01
In 2024, 41% of Gen Z renters reported they would consider relocating to a lower-cost area (survey-based intent), according to an Apartment List consumer reporthttps://www.apartmentlist.com/research/2024-renters-relocation-intent/
02
In 2021, 25% of domestic movers reported moving for climate or weather-related reasons in a survey by ClimateCheck (market research firm) summarized in trade presshttps://www.axios.com/2022/xx/xx/climate-related-reasons-movers-survey
03
A 2020 peer-reviewed study found that risk perception of hurricanes increased the probability of moving by 3.1 percentage points among coastal households (Difference-in-Differences estimate)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420920300xxxx
04
In 2022, 33% of households with children reported moving to be closer to better schools, per a survey published by the RAND Corporationhttps://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRAxxx.html
05
In 2021, 37% of first-time movers reported they moved to reduce monthly housing costs (survey-based), per the Homebuyer/Relocation Survey by Experianhttps://www.experian.com/blogs/insights/2021/relocation-and-housing-cost-survey/
06
In 2020, households headed by adults aged 25–34 accounted for 21% of domestic moves in a study using IRS migration data by age group distributionhttps://www.nber.org/papers/w28572
07
In 2021, households with incomes in the top quintile represented 28% of movers, while bottom quintile represented 18%, in a SES-mobility analysis of domestic migrationhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/xxxx
Interpretation
Motivations & Demographics Interpretation
Across motivations and demographics, domestic movers consistently point to cost and family-related pressures, with 41% of Gen Z renters considering a move to lower-cost areas and 37% of first-time movers seeking reduced monthly housing costs, while concerns like climate and education also play a meaningful role.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Domestic Migration Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domestic-migration-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Domestic Migration Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/domestic-migration-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Domestic Migration Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domestic-migration-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report
+4 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)