See Where Residents in Your State Are Moving To, From

Posted By Mike Maciag | December 13, 2012

Relatively few Americans moved this year, and those who did find new homes didn’t travel far.

The Census Bureau estimated this week about 36.5 million people, or about 12 percent of the population, will have moved this year. Although up slightly from last year, the rate at which Americans moved has steadily declined since the 1980s, reaching a record low last year of only 11.6 percent.

An estimated 64 percent of the moves occurred within the same county. The Census Bureau has posted data for different demographic groups on its website from the annual Current Population Survey.

Separate estimates compiled in the most recent 2011 American Community Survey provide a glimpse of where movers are headed.

Of those moving between states, Texas (109,887), Florida (61,395), Colorado (41,501) and North Carolina (40,144) gained the most residents. New York (95,591), California (93,915) and New Jersey (76,175) saw the most residents move away, according to estimates.

Interested in how your state measures up? We’ve compiled all 2011 state-to-state migration totals into the visualization below. Please note that some less populous states have high margins of error:

Here's another map showing the most common moves between states:

Mike Maciag

Mike Maciag is Data Editor for GOVERNING.

E-mail: mmaciag@governing.com
Twitter: @mmaciag

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