Dive Brief:
- Texas is the most sought-after location in the country for residents looking to move across state lines, based on an analysis of Google search queries on a monthly basis from storage unit listing provider SelfStorage.com.
- Both Texas and Florida placed far ahead of any other state on the list in terms of search volume. Texas received 21,021 queries on an average monthly basis and Florida had 18,530. California, in third, had just over 13,400, according to the report shared with Multifamily Dive.
- On the opposite end, Florida has the highest volume of search queries for residents looking to leave the state at 33,870 queries total, or 152 per 100,000 residents. Utah ranks second at 144 queries per 100,000 residents — albeit with a far lower number of total queries at 4,868, given the state’s smaller population.
Dive Insight:
Texas’s population rose by more than 470,000 between July 2021 and July 2022, the largest gain of any U.S. state during this same time period, according to data from the Census Bureau. This jump pushed Texas over the 30 million resident threshold, joining California as one of the only two states to meet that milestone. Just under half of this increase came from net domestic migration.
A number of large employers have moved their operations to Texas in recent years, including Silicon Valley giants like HP, Tesla and Oracle. At the same time, Texas’s major metropolitan areas have been some of the nation’s most active new multifamily construction markets, and the state’s pipeline reached peak highs at the end of 2022.
Top 10 states Americans want to move to
| Ranking | State | Google Search Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 21,021 |
| 2 | Florida | 18,530 |
| 3 | California | 13,407 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 12.525 |
| 5 | Arizona | 10,292 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 9,727 |
| 7 | Virginia | 9,166 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 9,009 |
| 9 | Alaska | 8,679 |
| 10 | New York | 8,441 |
SOURCE: Selfstorage.com analysis of Google data.
While Texas, Florida, Arizona and New York appear on both top 10 lists, Florida stands out as a state with a high amount of churn. The Sunshine State is both No. 2 on the list of states Americans want to move to and the No. 1 state that current residents are looking to leave.
Florida was the fastest-growing state in 2022, with a 1.9% rise in population year over year, according to the Census. Its warm climate, beaches and retirement communities contribute to its status as a desirable moving destination, according to commentary from SelfStorage.com.
However, the state is also among the hardest hit by hurricanes, owing to its coastal location and low elevation. On top of the safety concerns posed by these disasters, Florida’s home insurance premiums are more than four times the national average, according to CNN.
