2025 Moving Trends Report: Where are Americans looking to move right now?

(Update: July 8, 2025)

Spring 2025 Moving Trends:

  • The most popular state since April 2025 remains South Carolina, with significantly more searches for moves into the state than out. Its 2.10 in-to-out move ratio means more than twice as many people search to move in vs. out. North Carolina, Idaho, Tennessee, and Delaware are next in line.
  • North Carolina claims the highest volume of inbound searches, accounting for 22.20% of net inbound interest. 15.75% of net inbound searches. It’s followed closely by Florida at 21.94% and Texas at 12.81%.
  • The Southeast is the place to be. From South Carolina (#1) to North Carolina (#2) and Tennessee (#3), movers are indicating a strong preference for the region, often touted for its affordability, job opportunities, and outdoor access.
  • Conway, SC, is the #1 city earning way more moves in than out in 2025 so far. Supplanting Q1’s Myrtle Beach, this inland suburb is making a name for itself, wooing 4X the number of inbound movers as those seeking to leave. Conway leads other popular cities like #2 Wake Forest, NC, and #3 Caldwell, ID.
  • West Des Moines, IA, is the top exit city of 2025, so far, with just .13 searches inbound for every person looking to move out. Other top outbound cities are El Cajon, CA, and Palmdale, CA.

It’s been 5 years since the U.S. declared COVID-19 a national emergency on March 13, 2020.

In the world of real estate, it was the beginning of shifts in inflation, politically driven relocations, supply chain disruptions, and moving patterns that have yet to snap back. The pandemic propelled Americans toward both early retirement and new remote work hotspots with a high quality of life, thrusting new cities and states into the relocation spotlight.

Today, pandemic after-shocks continue to shape new moves. In 2025, movers are still seeking out affordability and access to nature, but they’re changing what that looks like, opting for small or suburban enclaves where “return to work” looks more like their remote lives once did.

We examined 55,000 searches made in Q2 of 2025 (April through June) as well as in all of 2025 so far, using moveBuddha’s Moving Cost Calculator to uncover the moving trends shaping this year so far. Here’s what we found.

Table of Contents:

I. Nationwide, where are moves headed in 2025?
II. 2025’s least popular states, so far
III. Which cities are especially popular in 2025, across the country?
Methodology & Sources

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I. Nationwide, where are moves headed in 2025?

It’s not all about cities. With land use restrictions, permitting, transfer taxes, and prevailing wages all wrapped up in state laws, some states are more accessible to would-be movers.

Nationwide, which states are attracting interest from prospective movers at the highest rates in 2025?

We analyzed moveBuddha search data and compared the rate of searches for moves into a state vs. out of a state to uncover 2025’s most popular states in Q2 to move to. That’s important since Q2, April through June, contains the planning and move dates for the year’s most popular moving month —June.

Most popular state in 2025 is still South Carolina

With a 2.10 in-to-out ratio, according to moveBuddha data, South Carolina sees 22.56% higher in-move interest compared to the #2 state — its northern neighbor. While 2025 is only half over, the pattern is strong: it’s the 6th year in a row that movers have shown more than double the interest for moves in than out.

Click the year “button” below to see the year-to-year change in moving trends:

And it’s not just this Southern home of sweet tea and barbecue. Neighboring states North Carolina (1.72) and Tennessee (1.62) also consistently rake in significantly more searches for moves in vs. out.

Here are the most popular states that people are moving to in Q2 of 2025, so far:

Rank State In-To-Out Move Ratio
1 South Carolina 2.20
2 North Carolina 1.69
3 Idaho 1.66
4 Alaska 1.62
5 Delaware 1.62
6 Tennessee 1.58
6 Oregon 1.39
8 Minnesota 1.35
9 Alabama 1.33
10 Maine 1.29

The Upper Midwest and the South surge ahead in Q2

At the beginning of 2025, Minnesota saw more interest in moving out than in. But that changed in Q2 as the state went from a .91 move ratio to 1.35, shifting from a net loss to a solid inflow pattern. Delaware also saw big gains this spring, moving from 1.12 to 1.62 — enough to enter the top ten in Q2.

California, while still net negative, also improved significantly, showing growing internal retention or new migration from other states.

Overall, states in the Upper Midwest, like Minnesota and North Dakota, showed the sharpest gains. Smaller East Coast states like Delaware also surged, with both patterns suggesting emerging interest in less densely populated areas with lower prices compared to regional competitors. The Mountain West and Deep South remained strong, though some formerly top-ranked Southern states, like Tennessee and Georgia, saw their ratios decline slightly. That suggests there’s been some broadening in migration interest, with lesser-known and previously overlooked destinations gaining ground as formerly popular locations reach saturation and cost limits.

By population, some small states are getting big interest

Adjusted for population, some smaller states are actually getting a bigger slice of the moving pie than their existing infrastructure might support. 

Sparsely populated western states, such as Montana and Oregon, and New England outposts with rural charm, like Vermont and Maine, appear on the popularity list in 2025 at rates that outstrip their populations. 

So while they’re getting less interest overall, they’re seeing many more new movers compared to existing residents, suggesting that newcomers are making a greater impact in these states in 2025.

The states with the highest net volume of searches for moves in: North Carolina #1

When it comes to the pure volume of searches, the most populous states always top the list: California, Florida, and, of course, Texas. But volume doesn’t tell the whole story.

We also looked at net volume: the number of searches for moves in minus the number of searches for moves out. Then we calculated what share of the total each state claimed.

Here are the 5 states with the highest net volume of searches for moves in:

Together, these 5 states account for nearly 75% of all net interest in inbound moves.

II. Getting away from the Crowd: 2025’s least popular states

For outbound moves, densely populated urban states are the least popular destinations, with many more people looking to leave than relocate there.

Least popular states of 2025

Rank State In-To-Out Move Ratio
1 New Jersey 0.61
2 California 0.63
3 New York 0.67
4 Connecticut 0.67
5 Maryland 0.73
6 Nebraska 0.76
7 Iowa 0.76
8 Massachusetts 0.76
9 Rhode Island 0.77
10 Virginia 0.82

The story hasn’t changed in New Jersey (0.61) and California (.63). These two states have ranked among the top 3 exit states since 2020.

These states, in addition to being densely populated, face affordability challenges in an America struggling with persistent inflation and pay that hasn’t kept up. Particularly affected are states like New Jersey, where residents pay the country’s highest property taxes, deal with exorbitant real estate and rent prices, and increasingly see corporate headquarters leave the state, taking jobs with them. Nearby Connecticut (0.67) is facing the same challenges and is also losing residents.

III. Which cities are especially popular to move to in 2025?

The cities that are leading the pack don’t venture too far off the beaten track of popular states, with 7 top cities lying within the top 3 states: South Carolina, North Carolina, and Idaho.

However, it isn’t highly populated urban hubs that are drawing the largest proportions of new residents. Instead, small and suburban enclaves with plenty of affordable housing and outdoor recreation emerge as big winners mid-way through 2025. So in #1 destination state South Carolina, it’s no longer 2024’s winner, Myrtle Beach, on top, but Conway and Little River, which are just inland. Caldwell and Eagle, ID, are Boise suburbs, while Wake Forest, NC, is outside of Raleigh.

Top cities to move to in 2025

Here are the top cities people are moving to in 2025:

Rank City, State In-To-Out Move Ratio
1 Conway, SC 4.00
2 Wake Forest, NC 3.86
3 Eagle, ID 3.79
4 Caldwell, ID 3.57
5 Calabash, NC 3.43
6 Green Valley, AZ 3.39
7 Johnson City, TN 3.33
8 Fairhope, AL 3.33
8 Myrtle Beach, NC 3.26
10 Little River, SC 3.20

Conway, SC is #1 for drawing in way more moves in than out so far in 2025. 

It headlines a slate of cities that are almost all new to the list. Last year, larger cities like Raleigh, NC, Ocala, FL, Chattanooga, TN, and Huntsville, AL, suggested that movers were interested in mid-sized cities that offered a balance of economic opportunity and quality of life.

This year, they’re flocking to smaller cities and suburbs where their daily lives are even more human-sized.

But it’s not just a shift in migration locations. The move ratio for last year’s #1, Myrtle Beach, is actually up this year, from 2.55 in 2024 to 3.26 so far in 2025. That’s an increase of almost 28% over last year, meaning Myrtle Beach is more popular than ever.

But it can’t compete with the sky-high 4.00 move ratio of #1 Conway, SC. 

This year, smaller locations are becoming more popular, with huge demand and few residents calling it quits. That means movers are very interested in just a handful of popular locales, and cities that haven’t grown in popularity this year, even if they’re maintaining strong migration interest, are falling behind.

Exit cities of 2025

On the flip side, some cities are losing many more residents than they’re attracting so far in 2025.

Rank City, State In-To-Out Move Ratio
1 West Des Moines, IA 0.13
2 El Cajon, CA 0.19
3 Palmdale, CA 0.26
4 Gresham, OR 0.27
5 Tustin, CA 0.27
6 Burbank, CA 0.29
7 Lancaster, CA 0.29
8 San Marcos, CA 0.29
9 Port Richey, FL 0.32
9 Yonkers, NY 0.32

So long, West Des Moines. The desirable suburb might be a surprising #1 losing city for 2025. After all, Iowa is known for both affordability and stability. But Des Moines residents may be discovering other suburbs with even lower prices, or leaving for remote work hubs in other cities altogether. The Midwest isn’t attracting retirees or college graduates, so the city may simply be aging in place, with few newcomers and dampened demand.

California dreaming has been over for years, with high living costs forcing more residents to relocate (We say ‘forcing’ as recent polls suggest that California would be the most popular state to move to for 27% of Americans who would relocate there if money were no object).

But while the state retains its mythos, Americans aren’t staying put at any cost. California cities make up 6 of the 10 cities in 2025 with the highest proportion of residents seeking to leave compared to those moving in.

 In fact, #30 Beverly Hills is the only California city to crack the top 100 with its in-move ratio at 2.74. 

But California doesn’t have a monopoly on out-moves. Cities experiencing the largest outflow are those located near expensive urban cores, even in fringe areas. With affordability pressure and few upsides, cities like Tustin, Burbank, Lancaster, Yonkers, and Gresham are often suburbs that aren’t destinations in their own right. 

So while the most popular destinations are small and peaceful, these non-trendy cities offer the “worst of all worlds” as larger, unpopular, and unaffordable locations that can’t even offer rural tranquility as a consolation prize.

2025’s Trending Moving Destinations: Southeast Boom, Budget-Friendly States, and a Retreat to Small Cities and Suburbs

So far in 2025, Americans have shifted their dream locations from mid-sized cities to lower-density small towns and suburbs. But the states they choose have remained the same: they’re clustered in the Southeast, where affordability and access to nature complement job growth.

South Carolina continues to hold the top move-to spot of any state, accompanied by surging demand in neighboring Tennessee and North Carolina. But it’s North Carolina that wins when it comes to pure volume. That’s a continuation of Q1 trends, not a change.

At the city level, places like Conway, Wake Forest, and Eagle capture inbound movers seeking vibrant communities without the steep housing costs and congestion of larger mid-sized cities or downtown urban cores.

Meanwhile, densely populated, high-cost areas such as California maintain their trend as top exit locations. Even though residents appreciate the cultural richness and diversity of these areas, sky-high living expenses continue to push them toward more budget-friendly destinations offering strong job prospects.

From Southeastern states to more livable cities, the 2025 relocation landscape emphasizes quality of life, affordability, and the enduring aftershocks of the pandemic era’s shifting priorities. As movers seek a balance between work, lifestyle, and cost, these preferences will continue to reshape where Americans are putting down roots in the years ahead.

Methodology & Sources

We use moveBuddha proprietary data collected from 2020 through June 30, 2025, to analyze move trends. The data comes directly from the moveBuddha Moving Cost Calculator.

In-to-out ratio: We rely primarily on the in-to-out ratio equation in our analysis to see which cities are earning more residents by moves in than losing them via moves out: [Number of queries for moves in] ÷ [Number of queries for moves out] = [in-to-out ratio].

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