A surprising state leads the list of states people moved to most this year, according to new research from Atlas Van Lines. Their annual Migration Patterns Study has just come out, giving us a look at where people moved to and from in the U.S. in 2024. And this year, Arkansas was the most popular state to move to.
- According to the study, 2024 had the highest number of “balanced” states in the last five years, which means that a relatively even number of people are moving in and moving out.
- This year also had the lowest number of outbound state moves in more than five years, which shows a lot of people aren’t moving at all.
- Atlas suggests this is because of the “lock-in effect,” where low-interest mortgages motivate homeowners to stay put and drive housing prices up.
- While Arkansas may be an unexpected state to land at number one, Atlas COO Ryan McConnell says he’s not surprised. “What you see in that part of the state are good cost of living, low crime rates and a lot of green spaces if you’ve been in the northwest part,” he explains.
- On the flip side, Louisiana is the state people moved away from most, followed by California, Illinois, South Dakota and New York.
The 10 States People Moved To Most In 2024
- Arkansas
- Rhode Island
- North Carolina
- Washington, D.C.
- Idaho
- Tennessee
- Maine
- Connecticut
- Washington
- Alaska
Source: Atlas Van Lines