Idaho saw the largest percentage of inbound moves in 2017, according to a recent
report by Atlas Van Lines, a national moving company. About 65 percent of moves there were made by those relocating to the state, instead of moving away from it.
Atlas Van Lines, which conducted nearly 7,300 relocations in 2017, looked at the percentage of moves in and out of each state to determine the states with the highest number of inbound moves. “Historically, [moves] are job-related," says Jeff Schimmel, vice president of transportation services at Atlas Van Lines. And "this past year, people moving wanted to go to the Northwest.”
Idaho boasted an unemployment rate of just 2.9 percent in November. That is significantly lower than the national average of 4.1 percent. Also, the median home price in Idaho is much lower than most of its neighbors at $185,000, according to realtor.com® data. Prices in the state are quickly rising, however. Home prices were up 10.4 percent year over year in November in Idaho, which is the fourth highest increase in the nation, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data firm.
Washington state came in second on Atlas Van Lines’ list of the most inbound movers in 2017. The state saw the highest overall number of new residents moving in. The following states ranked highest for most inbound moves in 2017, according to Atlas Van Lines:
- Idaho
- Washington
- Nevada
- Tennessee
- Alaska
- Maine
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Alabama
- Rhode Island
Source: “2017 Migration Patterns,” Atlas Van Lines and “The Surprising States People Are Moving To—and the Ones They Are Leaving,” realtor.com® (Jan. 2, 2018)