Where Did People Move to in 2021?

© Catherine Falls Commercial - Moment / Getty Images

Long-distance, state-to-state moves saw an increase this year, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. Some states came out clear winners as they gained more new residents over the year.

MoveBuddha analyzed more than 400,000 relocation queries in 2021 to compile its 2021–2022 moving migration report to see the top growing and declining states and cities across the U.S.

Florida continues to post significant gains in new residents. It had the largest year-over-year growth for the ratio of inbound to outbound moves, jumping 43 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. In other words, more than twice as many people moved to Florida than left it, researchers note.

But in 2021, it was Montana that had the highest net inflow of moves per capita, with 73% of inbound moves. Billings, Mont. was the number one destination, according to MoveBuddha’s analysis.

Researchers note that, in general, Americans appear to be fleeing states with extremely high populations and close quarters in favor of areas with more space to spread out and those that have looser COVID protocols, such as Florida and Texas.

On a city-to-city basis, MoveBuddha researchers looked at the cities with the most inflow of new residents in 2021. These are cities that are keeping existing residents while attracting new ones at some of the highest rates.