More Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 and that is something that is certainly expected. Especially after coronavirus pandemics that started last year and that brought a lot of uncertainty and sort of an economic crisis. So it is easy to understand why the number of relocations increased by more than 20% compared to 2020. But are all those relocations pandemic related? In the following article, Verified Movers will try to answer that question and see what are the real reasons Americans moved in 2021. Let’s take a look.
Is the coronavirus pandemic the main drive force for all these relocations?
The most striking thing that we see when we take a look that the reasons why more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 are that the coronavirus pandemic actually has very little to do with that fact but it is certainly one of the major driving forces. Of course, people from different states have different reasons for moving. But when we look at the wider picture and take a look at the country as a whole, we will see that the increased ability to work from home is one of the main reasons why people move in 2021.
Is the pandemic the main reason why more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020?
Another big reason for moving is the cost of living. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic created an economic crisis that left a lot of people struggling compared to previous years. That is why there are many people who try to cut their living costs by relocating. Another obvious reason why people move in 2021 may be related to pandemics but it doesn’t have any direct links to it. And that is a desire to have a more spacious home in a smaller community.
Homeownership is also among the main reasons why more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020. More people are moving out of rented homes, moving to suburbs and cheaper states in order to afford themselves a home. As you can see there are many reasons for moving in 2021. And even though they are not directly related to the pandemic, it is certainly one of the main reasons for these trends.
More Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 because more people can now work from home than ever before
One of the biggest differences that we see after the pandemic has started is that more and more people are working from home now. That created a lot of new opportunities and situations that people in the US are not really accustomed to. In the past, if you wanted to work in Manhattan and earn that high salary, you had to live in one of the central neighborhoods of NYC. And we all know that those are not among the most affordable places to live nowadays.
That is why many people are looking to hire top movers in NYC and move to some more affordable areas like Philadelphia, Miami, Washington D.C., Boston, or some smaller places in Connecticut for example. So now they are managing to keep their old jobs with good salaries while paying for their housing much less than they used to.
People are now moving to more affordable areas since they have the ability to work from wherever they like
Many people are working from home nowadays because of the nature of this virus. It is an airborne virus that easily transmits when people are close to each other. That is why most offices moved their businesses online. Meetings are not held online as well as in other parts of the work. Of course, the offices had the easiest job of moving their business online. Still, other businesses are trying to find models to do the same.
It seems like everyone now realizes that there are many benefits of remote working. Lowered business expenses, more satisfied workers, decreased a need for commuting. Of course, in order to push people to move because of the remote working opportunity, it is important to know that remote working is here to stay. Once the people in Los Angeles, for example, realized that they will have an opportunity to work from home in the future as well, they started to look for top movers in Los Angeles and relocate to cheaper areas in great numbers.
More people can now work from home
People are leaving large urban areas
Dealing with so easily transmittable viruses is particularly difficult in densely populated urban areas. That is why many large cities have seen an increase in the number of outbound moves. Cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco have all seen people moving out of their jurisdictions. Of course, people are now looking for a smaller community, more space, and fewer regulations if it’s possible. Let’s take a look at where those people moved in 2021.
People have had enough of renting – now people want to own their homes
Another of the benefits of remote working and one of the reasons why more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 is that people will not have to move so frequently like in the past. Practically, now you can find a job anywhere in the world and do it well without leaving your home, no matter where it is located. This means that people are now more open to settling down in one place. This further means that many people who rented their homes in the past are now able to purchase their homes. This is particularly visible in the homeownership numbers that have increased in 2021. Precisely, homeownership has seen an 11% growth while rents are seeing a 9% decline.
When you can work from home you can easily decide to settle down in one place
States with the largest percentage of outbound and inbound moves
As we already said more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020. But the numbers differ from state to state. People from California do not have the same reasons as people from Michigan, for example. So, in order to see the differences in different states, we have tried to see why people from particular states move. Let’s first take a look at what are the states with the biggest percentage of inbound moves and what are the states with the biggest percentage of inbound moves:
The state of New York is a state with the largest percentage of outbound moves in 2021
When we take a look at the state of New York, the biggest number of outbound relocations belong to the people formerly living in New York City, of course. And there are many reasons why so many people are looking for the best long distance movers New York has to offer. Of course, like everywhere else, economic reasons are most dominant.
New York is seeing a large number of outbound moves
However, since NYC was one of the most heavily struck cities during this pandemic, ever-increasing health protocols and regulations are also one of the reasons why more New Yorkers have been moving in 2021 than in 2020. And those are mostly older residents who are struggling with ever-increasing expenses. There is also a joke circling around that asks what do you call New Yorkers older than 65? You call them Florida residents. Of course, that is just a joke, But every joke holds a bit of truth. Here are some of the most common reasons for moving out of New York:
Sunny California is becoming too hot these days – wildfires are one of the reasons why more Americans have been moving out of California in 2021 than in 2020
When we take a look at California, for example, we will see that there are many similar reasons to move like in New York like affordability and housing costs. However, since California has a completely different location than New York, cold weather is not on the list of reasons. Of course, Californians have their own set of problems. And they are mostly related to taxes, insecurity, and different political problems.
California is one of the most expensive states to live in in the US. Especially cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. That is why we see that these two cities have seen the biggest increase in the number of outbound moves. Let’s now take a look at why Californians are searching for the best long distance movers California has to offer.
Illinois is losing residents because of economic reasons but also because of the weather
When we compare numbers we will see that the state of Illinois is ranked third among the most moved out states in 2021. Of course, the pandemic is one of the main reasons why so many people nowadays are using the internet to find the best long distance movers Illinois has to offer. But not the pandemic directly but the opportunities and events that pandemics have caused. Naturally, the biggest number of outbound movers is from Chicago.
People are leaving Chicago that is why we see many people that are leaving Illinois
But other cities like Springfield, Rockford, Joliet, and Peoria are not falling too much behind either. Those are mostly economic reasons, work-from-home opportunities, or simply a desire to have a larger home or live in the suburbs. Here are some of the biggest reasons why more Americans from Illinois have been moving in 2021 than in 2020.
More Americans have been moving out of New Jersey in 2021 than in 2020
Another of the states with the most outbound moves in 2021 in the US is definitely New Jersey. And when we take a look at the research done by the best long distance movers New Jersey has to offer, we will see that people from New Jersey have completely different reasons to move than those other states that we mentioned above. People from New Jersey are mostly concerned about their retirement, family, lifestyle, and health. And even though economic reasons are mostly dominant in other places, in New Jersey they are not so important.
Of course, we still see that people with the lowest incomes are the most numerous when it comes to outbound moves from New Jersey. Still, other classes are not falling too much behind. So we cannot say with certainty that economic reasons are the most important in New Jersey like in other states. Let’s, therefore, take a look at why people are moving out of New Jersey.
There are more people moving out of West Virginia now than back in 2020
One of the states with the highest number of outbound moves surprisingly is West Virginia. But why there are so many people moving out of this state? Is the pandemic the main drive force for this trend or there are some other reasons for this? Of course, the pandemic is pushing all those changes that are seemingly not directly related to it.
Despite its natural beauty, many people are leaving West Virginia
However, when we take a deeper look and try to understand from all those reasons are coming from, we will see that most of them are related to the coronavirus outbreak. The best long distance moving companies West Virginia has to offer have made a research and found that people from this state have some very distinctive reasons for leaving. Mostly, people are moving from West Virginia because of:
More Americans have been moving out of Indiana in 2021 than in 2020 and its got nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic
Even though the state of Indiana has managed to get to a larger number of inbound than outbound moves in 2019, right now it is one of the states with the largest number of outbound moves in the country. Of course, most people that are moving out of Indiana are using the services of professional moving companies.
And the best long distance movers Indiana has to offer, say that more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 from Indiana because of job opportunities, and family-related reasons. Moreover, there are other problems like a large number of drug and alcohol abusers, increase crime rates, poverty, etc. Lets now take a look at what are the most common reasons why so many people are moving out of Indiana:
A weak economy is driving more people to move out from Lousiana than ever before
Louisiana is also among the states with the largest percentage of outbound moves. Of course, the pandemic has something to do with these numbers. But also climate change. Or more precisely, the way that the government is dealing and planning to deal with the upcoming climate change. As we all know, Louisiana is one of the most oil and gas-dependent states. And since the new government and world leaders are now considering natural oil and gas a serious threat to planet Earth’s wellbeing, it is understandable why so many people from Louisiana are starting to seek their luck elsewhere.
Louisiana is suffering because of the climate change awareness
When we take a look at the data collected by some of the best long distance moving companies Louisiana has to offer, it is clear that economic reasons are the primary drive force for people that are leaving Louisiana. Here are some of the most common reasons why they move:
Young people are moving out of Nebraska only to return after the time to raise a family comes
Nebraska is one of the states that doesn’t have a particularly large percentage of outbound moves when we take a look at the general population. However, the best long distance movers Nebraska has to offer have done good research and found out that people that are leaving the state are mostly younger, college-educated population. And it is most dominant among the non-Hispanic whites that are leaving Nebraska in the largest numbers which are not something that is specifically related to the pandemic nor this trend is related to this year in particular.
This is something that’s been happening in the last decade or two. The state tried to reverse this trend by bringing in international migrants in their 20’s but with not so much success. Unfortunately, today it seems like this trend cannot be reversed. Luckily, there is one twist in all this. Most of the people that are leaving Nebraska in their 20s are returning to this state in their 30s to start a family. So it looks like Nebraska is actually not particularly good for young people. But it has other benefits that people in their 30s and older know how to appreciate. Here are the main reasons why people are leaving Nebraska:
Minnesota has been losing people for more than two decades
Minnesota is one of the states that is seeing a larger number of outbound than inbound moves in the past two decades. However, now it seems like even more Americans have been moving out of Minnesota in 2021 than in 2020. That is not a positive thing to see. And after the government efforts to turn things around we still see that Minnesota gains low-income residents from other states, but loses middle- and upper-income residents, generally to lower-tax states.
Minnesota is also having trouble with outbound moves
Most people however think that those are mostly retirees looking for better tax regulations. Unfortunately, that is not the case as Minnesota is seeing a large number of people moving out of state in their 40s. Of course, we spoke with the best long distance movers Minnesota has to offer. And they sad that people are moving from Minnesota mostly because of:
Pandemic related reasons are most dominant in Iowa
Finally, we come to the last state from our list – Iowa. Iowa is also one of the states with a large percentage of outbound moves. And when we take a look at the data provided by the best long distance movers Iowa has, we see that people moving out of this state are doing so mostly because of pandemic-related questions. Of course, things are not that simple as this pandemic changed a lot more than our hygiene habits. So when we take a look at the reasons why people are leaving Iowa we see answers like:
There are many reasons why more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020
As we can see more Americans have been moving in 2021 than in 2020 and we can thank the pandemic for this. Of course, the pandemic itself (or health concerns), most of the time, is not the reason why so many people moved this year. It is safer to say that opportunities that came out of this pandemic are now driving people to move. And some states are losing population while others are benefiting from this situation.