2026 Moving Trends Report: Where are Americans looking to move right now?

(Update: July 13, 2026)

Mortgage rates remain elevated, while record-high home prices and persistent affordability pressures keep many Americans in place, despite the current “buyer’s market”.

Yet, there are still those who are pulling the relocation trigger, or hoping to. They’re aiming for buyer-friendly states (with jobs) and suburban enclaves where a mortgage won’t break the bank.

We examined 97,706 searches made in the first six months of 2026, using moveBuddha’s Moving Cost Calculator to uncover the moving trends shaping 2026, so far.

Here’s what we found.

Table of Contents:

I. Which states are moves headed to in 2026?
II. Which are 2026’s least popular states to move to?
III. Which cities are most desirable in 2026?
Methodology & Sources

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I. Moving Trends by State: 2026’s most popular states

Nationwide, which states are attracting interest from prospective movers at the highest rates in 2026?

We analyzed moveBuddha search data and compared the rate of searches for moves into a state vs. out of a state to uncover 2026’s most popular states to move to this year, so far.

South Carolina Is on Track to Be America’s Top Move-In State for the 7th Straight Year

Mid-2026’s most popular move-to state is a familiar one. South Carolina (again) ranks #1 with 202 inbound searches for every 100 outbound. The state is back on track to extend its winning streak to seven consecutive years of net inbound interest.

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

Here are the most popular states that people are moving to in 2026, so far:

Sunbelt states are still relocation darlings, with #3 Florida, #5 North Carolina, #6 Arkansas, #8 Tennessee and #9 Alabama all landing in the top 10 along with South Carolina.

But demand is not limited to the Sunbelt.

#2 Idaho was a 2020 move-to darling, when it saw 320 searches in for every 100 out. While the state has taken a backseat to the headliners, move-ins never stopped. The state has maintained positive inflow and sustained a steady rise of interest year after year.

And the proof is in the pudding. Census data shows that 80% of Idaho counties grew their populations in 2025, while United Van Lines ranked it among 2025’s leading inbound states, with family the #1 reason for moving.

California remains an important feeder. Nearly 1 in 4 moveBuddha searches for moves to Idaho in early 2026 originated in California, reinforcing research showing that Idaho receives more than two Californians for every Idahoan moving in the opposite direction.

South Dakota is the year’s biggest newcomer, rising to #4, while Montana, Maine, and Idaho keep the Mountain West and northern states firmly in the relocation conversation.

In which states is moving demand rising in 2026? Florida and Mountain West States

Only 18 of 50 states gained ground year-over-year in net inbound move searches. Of those, only 12 have positive in-to-out ratios.

Florida leads, with its move ratio increasing 35 percentage points since 2025. Florida’s in-to-out move ratio was 1.17 in 2025. As of mid-2026, it has jumped to 1.52 making the state again one of the hottest move-to states this year.

The Mountain West is still making its comeback, home to the 3 states with the largest increases in move in-to-out ratios: New Mexico (+24%), Arizona (+21%), and Montana (+15%) also land in the top five.

Together, these states signal a broadening of demand beyond the South’s perennial magnets, as movers look for affordability and overlooked alternatives.

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

When it comes to total net inbound volume, though, the big states still dominate, but who’s winning?

The 5 states with the highest net volume of searches for moves in: Florida leads with 30% of all net inbound searches, followed by Texas (14%), North Carolina (12%), South Carolina (10.%), and Tennessee (6%).

Together, these 5 states account for 73% of all net inbound moving demand.

II. 2026’s least popular states to move to

The bottom 10 is dominated by the Northeast. For outbound moves, densely populated Northeastern states dominate the least popular destinations, with many more people looking to leave than relocate there. 

Least popular states of 2026

Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhode Islands, Massachusetts, and New York all rank among the least popular states for inbound moves in 2026.

California is still there but no longer is it of note for being the top exodus state, instead it’s now the biggest non-Northeastern exception.

In addition to being densely populated, these states face affordability challenges in an America struggling with persistent inflation and pay that hasn’t kept up. Particularly affected are states like New Jersey and Connecticut, which have some of the highest property taxes, deal with exorbitant real estate and rent prices, and increasingly see corporate headquarters leave the state, taking jobs with them.

III. Which cities are especially popular to move to in 2026?

Movers are still favoring Sunbelt cities in 2026, and Florida dominates the city-level rankings as of mid-2026. 7 of the top 10 cities are in Florida, with the rest spread across New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas.

At the top is #1 The Villages, FL, with 3.58 inbound searches for every 1 out. One other city breaks the 3x move-in flux, #2 Las Cruces, NM with a move in-to-out ratio of 3.44.

Top cities to move to in 2026

Here are the top cities people are moving to in 2026:

The Villages, FL, is 2026’s strongest inbound city so far, drawing more than 3.5 moves in for every move out.

Retirement-friendly, warm-weather cities win year after year, especially cities like Florida’s The Villages, Ocala, St. Augustine, and Kissimmee and Myrtle Beach, SC.

But the list is not only about retirement. Las Cruces, Leander, and Bozeman tell a second story: movers are also drawn to smaller growth markets where jobs, infrastructure, outdoor access, and quality of life are valued. In Las Cruces’ home county, Doña Ana County commissioners approved Project Jupiter, a proposed $165 billion AI data center campus in Santa Teresa. Leander, outside Austin, is seeing more than 100 development filings tied to schools, retail, parks, and other projects, along with planned business park, office, and industrial growth. And Bozeman’s appeal is already showing up in long-term population and housing pressure: HUD ranked the Bozeman housing market area as the nation’s 5th-fastest-growing among 958 metro and micro areas from 2010 to 2020.

It’s a trend that we’ve seen from recent years, a steady interest in mid-sized cities and smaller metropolitan areas that offer a balance of economic opportunities and quality of life.

Whether moving to retiree-friendly coastal markets or growth hubs, 88% of U.S. -based respondents want to save money if they move this year (2026 moving survey). The top 10 inbound cities have an average Zillow home price of $415,436, leave out Bozeman’s $818,741 homes, and that drops to just around $370K.

For many movers, most of these places may be where homeownership is cheaper, bills are lower and day-to-day life is less expensive than wherever they’re leaving.

Exit cities of 2026

2026’s outflow map is concentrated along the West Coast, with half of the top 10 outbound spots in California and 2 in Washington state.

At the top sits Bakersfield, CA, with just 0.37 moves in for every move out, followed by Renton, WA, at 0.39 and Riverside, CA, at 0.42.

Bakersfield and the rest of Kern County are still heavily tied to oil, making the area vulnerable as the industry changes and jobs disappear. WARN filings show that in the last 24 months, 1,794 workers in Kern County have been impacted by layoffs. Riverside has also felt recent losses in the Inland Empire’s trade, transportation, and utility sectors. Farther north, Renton and Everett remain exposed to the ups and downs of Boeing and Amazon, where aerospace and tech volatility, including strikes, layoffs, and job cuts, have added uncertainty.

But exits are not only about layoffs. Alexandria and Woodbridge reflect Northern Virginia’s high-cost, federal-workforce-dependent housing market, while Anaheim, Hayward, and Riverside point to a familiar California problem: even cities outside the state’s priciest coastal cores can still feel too expensive.

Hollywood, FL, is a reminder that even in a winning state, not every local market is pulling movers in.

The States and Cities Americans Are Moving to and From in 2026

Despite rising housing costs and economic uncertainty, Americans haven’t stopped wanting to move. But their moves are more calculated, shaped by affordability, job stability, lifestyle choices, and a growing willingness to consider places beyond the usual favorites.

Even still, America’s dream move-to state is still Florida drawing 30% of all net inbound searches because it offers something rare right now: no state income tax, warm weather, and housing markets across the state that still present a viable path to ownership for middle-income buyers.

South Carolina is back on top at the state level, Idaho remains a steady move-to favorite, and the broader Mountain West is gaining ground as movers look for places where affordability, outdoor access, job growth, and quality of life still line up.

At the city level, retirement-friendly destinations like The Villages, St. Augustine, Ocala, and Myrtle Beach keep winning, while growth hubs like Las Cruces, Leander, and Bozeman show movers are also betting on smaller markets with visible momentum.

Whether it’s retirees or families, the value equation (lower comparative costs, warm climate, established infrastructure) in these top move-to destinations is simply hard to beat anywhere else in the country.

Methodology & Sources

We use moveBuddha proprietary data collected from 2020 through July 7, 2026 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 searches for moves in than losing them via searches for moves out: [Number of queries for moves in] ÷ [Number of queries for moves out] = [in-to-out ratio].

Ryan Carrigan

Ryan Carrigan is the co-founder of moveBuddha and a leading voice in the moving industry, helping hundreds of thousands of Americans make smarter, safer relocation decisions each year. With more than a decade of experience analyzing moving companies, pricing trends, and industry regulations, Ryan brings hands-on industry knowledge and data-driven insight to every guide and review. His research has been featured in Forbes, Consumer Reports, The New York Times, and NBC News.