Why Americans stopped moving
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
The share of Americans moving has reached its lowest in history — and it doesn’t look like it’s climbing back up anytime soon.
Why it matters: Moving — across town, across the state and across the country — for new jobs and better lives was once a common part of American life. Now, staying put longer is the norm.
By the numbers: In the 1960s, around 1 in 5 Americans moved each year, according to the Brookings Institution.
- As of 2022, that’s fallen to 8.7% — even accounting for the pandemic-era moves out of big coastal cities and into places like the Sun Belt.
Breaking it down: A collision of key demographic, social and economic trends is driving the decline, William Frey, senior demographer at Brookings, tells Axios.
- Younger people, who are responsible for the bulk of local, inter-county moves, are living with their parents for longer and delaying marriage and starting families.
- America as a whole is aging. The population is older and less likely to move.
- Labor markets have become less segmented by region and, in some cases, more remote, so techies don’t necessarily have to move to Silicon Valley and autoworkers don’t necessarily have to move to Detroit.
- Households are no longer typically comprised of one earner — and looking for two or more new jobs in new places is harder than looking for one.
- Sky-high housing prices are keeping people from moving into new homes or buying their first homes.
The flipside: Though there’s been a steep long-term drop in local moves — which make up the lion’s share of moves — interstate migration has actually ticked up in recent years, particularly since the pandemic per Brookings.
- The people moving to new cities and states are disproportionately college-educated. As the NY Times notes, less-educated workers don't benefit as much from moving to a city as they once did in terms of higher wages.
- And while the recent increase in migration between states is notable, it follows a long-term decline over the past several decades.
The bottom line: The history of America has often been one of packing up in search of a better life. As opportunities spread out, or stagnate, that's happening less than ever before.
