Where are people moving to? Is your city in the top 10?

[Eric Delcol]

I love the census report.  Finally the 2020 census is here and there are some interesting data points! If you’re deciding on a new market you may find this data useful in aiding your decision.

States with the highest percentage growth:
Utah

Idaho

Texas

North Dakota

Nevada

Fastest growing cities 

• The Villages, Fla.
• Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
• St. George, Utah
• Greeley, Colo.
• Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C. and N.C.

cities with the largest growth 

• Phoenix
• Los Angeles
• Denver
• Jacksonville
• New York
• Charlotte
• Columbus
• Oklahoma City
• Austin
• Dallas
• Fort Worth
• Houston
• San Antonio
• Seattle

I particularly like to look at In-migration data as that is driven by internal push/pull factors that drive growth (eg condition of the economy, taxes, cultural changes).   

Most of us are aware that California is losing residents to other states such as AZ, OR and TX.  Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Toyota, and a drove of former golden state residents have left for Texas citing a lesser tax burden and easier political climate when it comes to regulation.  

The Texas triangle of Dallas, Austin, Houston can be clearly seen on the map when it comes to cities with significant growth. 

Florida continues to draw on New Yorkers and other former Northeast residents to escape the cold and call the sunshine state home.  The only major county in the state that has not seen a significant inflow of migrants is Miami-Dade.  

Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Pamela city, and Jacksonville have all seen large increases in population.  

A surprising state that is seeing large influx of in-migration is Idaho.  Affordability and Boise’s goal of becoming the next Silicon Valley are key drivers.

The pandemic has altered life significantly, including where one chooses to live.  Although there were no major macro changes affecting peoples residency choices in the 2010-2020 decade we still saw large percentage changes from North to South and West states.  Will this trend be accelerated with work from home normalized? Will suburbs lose their appeal with gas prices doubling from 2021-2022? Will demand for city living wane as delivery services expand and become more accessible?  We won’t know the data until 2030.  

Until then, please share your thoughts!  Where do you think people will be moving to in the coming decade?