Americans Aren’t Moving Much Anymore

By Eric Anders • Jan 1st, 2009 • Category: WHAT'S NEW

Shhhhhh….don’t tell those in the relocation business, but, as a whole, the nation isn’t packing up their junk and moving it as much as they used to.

In a new survey two veteran Pew Social & Demographic researchers found that the percentage of Americans moving dropped to its lowest level since the government started tracking the trend after WWII. The study, American Mobility: Movers, Stayers, Places and Reasons, reports that only 11.9% of Americans changed residences between 2007 and 2008. The data confirms what those in the industry already know. Read the full report at pewsocialtrends.org.

The Census Bureau’s current population survey “indicates that the number of people who moved between 2007 and 2008, 34 million, was the lowest since 1959-60, when the population of the U.S. was 41% smaller than it is now. The annual migration rate, which held at about 20% through the mid-1960s, has drifted downward since then to its current low of 11.9%.”

The reason most cited for moving – economic opportunity – means that things don’t look too good in the foreseeable future.

“Analysts say the long-term decline in migration has occurred because the U.S. population is getting older and most moves are made when people are young. Another brake on moving is the rise of two-career couples, because it is more difficult to coordinate a relocation when two jobs are involved. On top of these long term trends, the current economic downturn has led to a further decline in migration, because jobs are typically one of the key magnets that induce people to move.”

If they’re movin’, it appears most people are heading south – a fact that‘s confirmed in Pew’s Social and Demographic Trends: Migration Flows in the U.S. data. Although both the Pew Social & Demographic Trends survey and U.S. Census data indicate that the biggest differences in the characteristics of ‘movers’ and ‘stayers’ revolve around geography and education, the pull of weather, job opportunities, and lower living costs may also play a part in the willingness of some American’s to pull up roots.

Who’s movin’ the most? If you’re in relocation business, you should be trying to appeal to younger, more educated, globe trotting urbanites.