(The Center Square) – A pair of sales reports from two of America’s most popular moving companies show that Florida is one of the most popular destinations for Americans looking to relocate to a new state.
That track with data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which showed Florida had the most population gain of any state. From April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023, Florida had a net migration gain of 818,762, according to the Census Bureau.
According to the 2023 Allied U.S. Moving Migration Report, which presents an analysis of current trends in interstate moves. South Carolina was tops on Allied’s top five list for inbound states, followed by Arizona in second place, Tennessee in third, North Carolina in fourth place, with Florida rounding out the list in fifth place.
The report noted that the volume of interstate moves has decreased in 2023 by 12% after decreasing in 2022 by 20%. The report further noted that Florida’s appeal to new residents is the state’s tax policies, including no state income tax, diverse economic opportunities and a warm climate.
Allied claims that a critical factor in the decline in people moving is fluctuating mortgage interest rates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the report states that interest rates hit a historic low but rebounded heavily in 2022, reaching the highest levels since 2002. In 2023, mortgage interest rates hit between 6% and 7%, likely deterring potential homebuyers.
Florida’s housing market is currently in a crisis as rents continue to increase, along with growing costs for homeowners, with demand outstripping supply. Home insurance has also increased significantly and Florida lawmakers are working towards fixing some of these issues this legislative session.
The top five outbound states are Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Washington. These states all have high taxes, high regulations, concerns around crime and challenges related to cost of living and economic factors.
U-Haul published its report with similar migration trends for 2023 but found Texas and Florida were at the top of the list for the third year in a row, followed closely by North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
According to U-Haul, Florida has netted almost as many one-way U-Haul customers as Texas and has been a top-four growth state for the last nine consecutive years, topping U-Haul’s growth index in 2019.
U-Haul International president John “J.T” Taylor noted in the report that migration to states in the Southeast and Southwest are still very pronounced.
“While one-way transactions in 2023 remained below the record-breaking levels we witnessed immediately following the pandemic, we continued to see many of the same geographical trends from U-Haul customers moving between states,” Taylor said.
