Monthly Moving Report — April 2024

Every month, moveBuddha pulls the freshest data from their Moving Cost Calculator to understand where people are moving to and from across the United States in real-time. This report takes a look at moves into and out of the nation’s 150 largest cities. 

Updated: April 18, 2024

Moving trends for the 150 largest US cities:

• In April, moveBuddha data shows Cary, NC overtook Chattanooga (TN) as the big city with the highest in-to-out move ratio.
• Cary (NC) and Chattanooga (TN) saw a distinctive uptick of +0.78% or more in home values from February 2024 to March 2024, highlighting a correlation between an influx of new residents and demand for real estate.
• Austin’s cooling, but Dallas suburbs are getting hotter. DFW metro’s Plano and Frisco are seeing some of the highest interest from movers into Texas big cities in early 2024, and both cities are seeing home prices stay strong.
• It’s still early in 2024, so mover searches haven’t hit their peak. This means we will continue to observe shifts in the top move to big cities of 2024.

Cary and Chattanooga are move-to magnets in early 2024

The big city with the highest inflow of new moves is Cary, North Carolina with a move ratio of 2.41, meaning there are 241 moves in for every 100 moves out.

With 2.41 in-moves for every move out, of the nation’s biggest cities Cary, NC, is raking in a lot of interest for new moves. There are nearly 2.5x more searches for moves into the city than the rate of the average American big city, by our count.

That popularity comes at a price: housing prices are rising, up 0.79% month over month and more than 6.7% since this time last year.

City, ST	In-to-out Move Ratio	March 2024	m/m % change
Cary, NC	2.41	$626,507	0.79%
Chattanooga, TN	2.02	$300,140	0.78%
Eugene, OR	1.91	$470,665	0.18%
Knoxville, TN	1.87	$350,151	0.59%
Henderson, NV	1.84	$476,378	0.49%
Winston-Salem, NC	1.77	$252,763	0.53%
Frisco, TX	1.68	$687,916	0.52%
Raleigh, NC	1.64	$442,852	0.48%
Orlando, FL	1.63	$384,415	0.36%
Boise, ID	1.62	$483,604	0.41%

 

Where moves are flocking, home values are rising

Other top move-to cities reflect that increased demand is impacting local home affordability in places that have long been known for offering average home costs that are lower than the U.S. average.

In the past year, home values in all ten of the top cities have risen by as much as 12% (in Knoxville, TN) and in #1 Cary, NC by nearly $40,000.

City, ST	Mar 2023	Mar 2024	HOME VALUE Y/Y $ INCREASE	y/y % change
Cary, NC	$587K	$627K	$39K	6.7%
Chattanooga, TN	$284K	$300K	$16K	5.8%
Eugene, OR	$460K	$471K	$11K	2.4%
Knoxville, TN	$313K	$350K	$37K	12.0%
Henderson, NV	$461K	$476K	$15K	3.3%
Winston-Salem, NC	$236K	$253K	$17K	7.2%
Frisco, TX	$657K	$688K	$31K	4.7%
Raleigh, NC	$427K	$443K	$16K	3.8%
Orlando, FL	$366K	$384K	$19K	5.2%
Boise, ID	$469K	$484K	$15K	3.2%

 

Demand isn’t the whole story.

Three of the top 10 losing cities have seen month-over-month real estate value increases in 2024 higher than any of the top 10 cities for in-moves. So while Irvine, CA, Jersey City, NJ and San Diego, CA all lost residents faster than other American cities, you wouldn’t know it from their real estate prices.

City, St	In-to-out Ratio	March 2024 Home Values	m/m % change
Irvine, CA	0.71	$1,489,822	1.49%
Jersey City, NJ	0.74	$603,636	1.06%
San Diego, CA	0.65	$1,021,655	0.99%

 

How long can rising prices and falling demand last?

According to moveBuddha moving expert Ryan Carrigan, “Prices don’t always fall with falling demand if supply is also falling. So if new construction starts adjust quickly to a changing population, and new construction is weak, housing values may stay strong.”

Growth is still big in Texas, and headed to Dallas

Of Texas’ big cities, the DFW metro area’s Plano and Frisco are seeing some of the highest interest from movers in early 2024.

Texas has been a high-growth story since 2020, adding residents faster than anywhere else in the nation as recently as 2023.

Pandemic darling Austin’s in-to-out move ratio has fallen to 1.03, with real estate values similarly dropping 0.13% in the last month and 5.15% in the last year.

On the other hand, Plano and Frisco (both northern suburbs of Dallas) are booming, and real estate prices have unsurprisingly risen in both locales.

The DFW metro is #2 in February for the most home sales, according to the Zillow Count Nowcast. Only Houston does better:

Metro	February 2024 Sales Count (Zillow)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	1676
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1324
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	721
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	680
El Paso, TX	135

While Texas cities aren't cracking the top ten list of cities with the highest in-to-out ratio, multiple Texas cities are still booming with new moves.

Of the nation's biggest cities, 9 Texas cities land in the top 50 of those attracting the most interest from movers: Frisco, Plano, San Antonio, Amarillo, Houston, McKinney, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Arlington. (Only 4 Florida cities do the same.)

When you’re big, like Texas, you can spread out the population boom a little bit.

What’s going to happen in 2024?

• It's still early in 2024, so mover searches haven't hit their peak. This means we will continue to observe shifts in the top move to big cities of 2024.

Movers like to relocate during the summer when kids are in school, and the weather is most likely to cooperate. That means that move planning so far in 2024 has yet to heat up and reflect where Americans are heading this year. 

But first quarter data holds some valuable patterns. If it’s not these exact cities that come out on top by the end of the year, we’re certainly seeing a cluster of medium-sized cities with low-average to average real estate values in the Sun Belt dominating the country’s moves so far in 2024. Look for more of the same, as up-and-coming cities like Cary, Chatanooga, Winston-Salem, and Frisco keep winning new residents.

Methodology & Sources

We use moveBuddha proprietary data collected from January 2024 through April 17, 2024, to analyze move trends in this report.

The data comes directly from searches using 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].

City level analysis: The city analysis takes into account the most recent annual data, meaning it analysis searches made in 2024, from Jan 1 through March 15. We look only at the 150 largest cities in the United States in our city-level analysis, 16 of which are omitted due to insufficient search data. Only cities with a minimum of 25 searches for moves both in and out are considered, a total of 134 cities.

Zillow Home Value data is used for understanding the home value and home value percentage increase over time.

Full dataset for cities:

City, St	In-to-out ratio (2024, so far)	Mar 2024	m/m % change	y/y % change
Cary, NC	2.41	$626,507	0.79%	6.69%
Chattanooga, TN	2.02	$300,140	0.78%	5.77%
Eugene, OR	1.91	$470,665	0.18%	2.42%
Knoxville, TN	1.87	$350,151	0.59%	11.98%
Henderson, NV	1.84	$476,378	0.49%	3.29%
Winston-Salem, NC	1.77	$252,763	0.53%	7.19%
Frisco, TX	1.68	$687,916	0.52%	4.66%
Raleigh, NC	1.64	$442,852	0.48%	3.77%
Orlando, FL	1.63	$384,415	0.36%	5.17%
Boise, ID	1.62	$483,604	0.41%	3.20%
Huntsville, AL	1.54	$282,670	0.19%	1.21%
Akron, OH	1.50	$126,631	1.19%	9.40%
Charlotte, NC	1.48	$398,897	0.44%	4.69%
Tacoma, WA	1.47	$209,201	0.69%	2.90%
Little Rock, AR	1.47	$485,018	0.61%	4.05%
Tampa, FL	1.45	$382,663	0.48%	5.46%
Nashville, TN	1.41	$439,470	0.34%	1.91%
Des Moines, IA	1.38	$199,739	0.67%	6.65%
Colorado Springs, CO	1.36	$455,641	0.11%	0.84%
Plano, TX	1.35	$276,947	0.96%	8.52%
Sioux Falls, SD	1.35	$321,648	0.67%	3.93%
Grand Rapids, MI	1.35	$528,787	0.63%	4.64%
San Antonio, TX	1.29	$159,748	0.57%	6.80%
Columbus, GA	1.29	$257,711	0.06%	-2.34%
Tulsa, OK	1.26	$211,283	0.75%	7.26%
Fayetteville, NC	1.26	$200,036	0.51%	5.50%
Minneapolis, MN	1.25	$317,405	0.27%	1.88%
Amarillo, TX	1.24	$198,382	0.60%	3.98%
Houston, TX	1.22	$381,108	0.49%	5.29%
Jacksonville, FL	1.22	$398,623	0.46%	3.61%
Durham, NC	1.22	$404,856	0.46%	4.74%
North Las Vegas, NV	1.22	$269,461	0.38%	1.80%
St. Petersburg, FL	1.22	$298,584	0.34%	0.81%
McKinney, TX	1.21	$528,237	0.42%	2.95%
New York, NY	1.19	$746,451	0.57%	-1.09%
Fort Worth, TX	1.19	$329,219	0.19%	3.91%
Tucson, AZ	1.19	$306,148	0.09%	-0.50%
Dallas, TX	1.18	$316,469	0.62%	2.35%
Arlington, TX	1.18	$551,770	0.20%	1.31%
Salt Lake City, UT	1.18	$320,330	0.17%	1.40%
Las Vegas, NV	1.17	$414,662	0.52%	4.27%
Detroit, MI	1.15	$71,547	1.20%	0.30%
Virginia Beach, VA	1.15	$397,887	0.60%	6.39%
Santa Rosa, CA	1.15	$729,364	0.25%	3.25%
Greensboro, NC	1.14	$255,891	0.51%	5.73%
Denver, CO	1.12	$172,060	0.50%	3.77%
Spokane, WA	1.12	$427,534	0.33%	1.81%
Augusta, GA	1.12	$386,037	0.23%	0.87%
Salem, OR	1.12	$575,188	0.00%	0.43%
Portland, OR	1.11	$103,979	1.15%	7.32%
Cleveland, OH	1.11	$348,593	0.70%	5.24%
Richmond, VA	1.11	$539,524	0.06%	0.92%
Oklahoma City, OK	1.09	$440,289	0.31%	3.81%
Mesa, AZ	1.09	$202,323	0.09%	3.97%
Milwaukee, WI	1.06	$196,698	1.36%	8.98%
Madison, WI	1.06	$380,800	0.89%	6.55%
Montgomery, AL	1.05	$139,969	0.36%	3.09%
Seattle, WA	1.04	$741,153	0.85%	3.67%
Boston, MA	1.04	$879,412	0.63%	2.24%
Austin, TX	1.03	$366,849	0.28%	3.19%
Washington, DC	1.03	$619,321	0.04%	-1.21%
Anchorage, AK	1.03	$546,619	-0.13%	-5.15%
Scottsdale, AZ	1.02	$438,050	0.63%	5.83%
Overland Park, KS	1.02	$823,009	0.42%	5.66%
Phoenix, AZ	1.01	$427,882	0.30%	4.60%
Louisville, KY	1.01	$238,102	0.24%	4.43%
Philadelphia, PA	1.00	$235,672	0.90%	8.07%
Atlanta, GA	1.00	$292,580	0.59%	7.19%
Cincinnati, OH	1.00	$217,849	0.32%	1.89%
Norfolk, VA	1.00	$399,005	0.26%	1.63%
Miami, FL	0.99	$571,215	0.56%	8.74%
Cape Coral, FL	0.98	$392,060	-0.41%	-1.49%
Lexington, KY	0.97	$298,121	0.54%	7.08%
Reno, NV	0.97	$580,531	0.51%	4.98%
Rochester, NY	0.97	$543,062	0.46%	3.41%
Gilbert, AZ	0.97	$210,711	0.45%	n/a
Wichita, KS	0.96	$191,682	0.99%	6.61%
Fort Wayne, IN	0.96	$225,268	0.77%	8.11%
Columbus, OH	0.95	$243,838	0.67%	6.92%
Albuquerque, NM	0.95	$329,055	0.52%	7.23%
Lubbock, TX	0.95	$208,057	0.46%	0.42%
Lincoln, NE	0.94	$188,344	0.76%	4.35%
Tempe, AZ	0.94	$276,124	0.41%	4.29%
Mobile, AL	0.94	$484,930	0.36%	4.93%
Omaha, NE	0.92	$278,352	0.48%	5.32%
Port St. Lucie, FL	0.92	$398,315	0.15%	3.13%
St. Louis, MO	0.91	$174,341	0.57%	6.08%
Ontario, CA	0.91	$664,526	-0.12%	7.39%
El Paso, TX	0.90	$221,636	0.71%	6.43%
Fort Lauderdale, FL	0.90	$530,859	0.24%	5.01%
Kansas City, MO	0.89	$236,293	0.52%	6.94%
New Orleans, LA	0.89	$247,048	-0.43%	-6.61%
Indianapolis, IN	0.88	$116,240	0.84%	10.57%
Sacramento, CA	0.88	$854,022	0.81%	11.09%
Chandler, AZ	0.88	$224,099	0.71%	2.32%
Chula Vista, CA	0.88	$531,446	0.43%	4.01%
Toledo, OH	0.88	$483,455	0.42%	3.39%
Chicago, IL	0.87	$216,997	0.62%	7.93%
Pittsburgh, PA	0.87	$289,909	0.50%	3.96%
Buffalo, NY	0.87	$227,329	0.36%	6.20%
Peoria, AZ	0.87	$497,804	0.31%	3.56%
Vancouver, WA	0.84	$405,935	0.72%	10.33%
Worcester, MA	0.84	$503,330	0.29%	4.19%
Irving, TX	0.81	$353,426	0.64%	4.26%
Chesapeake, VA	0.81	$388,045	0.64%	4.94%
Fremont, CA	0.80	$1,562,022	1.19%	10.17%
Birmingham, AL	0.80	$277,178	0.90%	7.11%
Newport News, VA	0.80	$131,290	0.51%	-4.08%
Baltimore, MD	0.79	$183,244	0.46%	4.69%
Glendale, AZ	0.76	$414,964	0.33%	4.96%
Newark, NJ	0.75	$445,234	0.49%	7.33%
Jersey City, NJ	0.74	$603,636	1.06%	5.73%
Los Angeles, CA	0.73	$974,105	-0.70%	5.70%
Providence, RI	0.72	$382,032	0.63%	10.76%
Irvine, CA	0.71	$1,489,822	1.49%	17.53%
Aurora, CO	0.70	$493,844	0.14%	1.88%
Garland, TX	0.69	$306,926	0.44%	3.01%
San Francisco, CA	0.67	$386,199	0.47%	5.73%
Bakersfield, CA	0.67	$815,047	0.35%	10.50%
Santa Ana, CA	0.67	$1,290,678	0.09%	-2.69%
San Diego, CA	0.65	$1,021,655	0.99%	10.79%
Fresno, CA	0.65	$377,722	0.64%	5.44%
Santa Clarita, CA	0.64	$808,009	-0.07%	6.21%
Long Beach, CA	0.57	$840,636	-0.50%	7.39%
San Jose, CA	0.56	$1,461,923	0.14%	10.10%
Memphis, TN	0.54	$147,542	0.51%	-3.61%
Baton Rouge, LA	0.52	$218,840	0.56%	1.70%
Glendale, CA	0.52	$1,201,412	-0.58%	7.84%
Tallahassee, FL	0.51	$286,005	0.43%	5.84%
Shreveport, LA	0.48	$133,207	0.59%	2.70%
Oakland, CA	0.47	$803,291	-0.02%	-2.20%
Riverside, CA	0.45	$635,591	0.50%	7.85%
San Bernardino, CA	0.32	$906,612	0.43%	9.79%
Anaheim, CA	0.32	$483,312	-0.08%	7.55%