News stories of residents fleeing big cities like New York were prominent during the first year of the pandemic, but it looks like the Big Apple is back.
Net residential out-migration from New York City tripled during 2020, with residents in the wealthiest 10% of city neighborhoods 4.6 times more likely to leave, according to the state comptroller, but as of November 2021, numbers have indicated a gradual return.
In fact, New York was one of the three cities more people moved to in 2021, with positive net migration at 86.4%, in a study by Hire-a-Helper, a moving resources site.
Housing is one of the biggest reasons people moved in the past three years, according to Brookings, though declines in housing-related moves were due to fewer people making the transition from renting to owning. That’s understandable in a tight housing market.
The Economist recently reported that some 14 million to 23 million Americans may relocate due to the increase of remote workers, amounting to between 9% and 13% of today’s workforce.
Overall, the rate of Americans moving has been steadily declining since it peaked in 1985 at 20.2%. Last year had the lowest percentage of people moving in one year ever recorded.
And younger generations are stuck. Millennials and Gen Zers launching their personal lives and careers are entering crucial migration ages, according to Brookings, which says millennials are “saddled with ‘stuck-in-place’ issues associated with higher housing costs and underemployment, leading them to postpone key life events such as marriage, childbearing, and homeownership.”
Where did people move last year, and which places did the most people leave? States with the biggest net migration were Arkansas, South Carolina, Maine, and Delaware, according to Hire-a-Helper’s 2021 annual migration report. States that saw more residents leave than move in were New Jersey, California, and Illinois.
To find the cities with the where more people moved out than in—or biggest negative net migration—in 2021, Hire-a-Helper used data from their site of over 90,000 moves, two customer surveys, and U.S. Census Bureau statistics. Only cities 100 moves or more were included in the ranking.
San Jose, Calif., tops the list with a negative net migration of 67.6%
These are the cities where most people moved out in 2021.
1. San Jose, Calif.
Net moves: -67.6%
2. Naperville, Ill.
Net moves: -65.0%
3. Sacramento, Calif.
Net moves: -63.2%
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4. Glendale, Ariz.
Net moves: -52.8%
5. Fayetteville, N.C.
Net moves: -52.6%
6. Indianapolis
Net moves: -51.5%
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7. Long Beach, Calif.
Net moves: -51.3%
8. Cleveland
Net moves: -50.6%
9. Hollywood, Fla.
Net moves: -50.0%
10. Wichita, Kan.
Net moves: -48.6%
11. Parker, Colo.
Net moves: -48.5%
12. Oakland, Calif.
Net moves: -46.8%
13. Aurora, Colo.
Net moves: -44.3%
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14. Pittsburgh
Net moves: -44.0%
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15. Alexandria, Va.
Net moves: -43.5%
16. Tempe, Ariz.
Net moves: -43.2%
17. Beaverton, Ore.
Net moves: -42.9%
18. Marietta, Ga.
Net moves: -42.9%
19. Memphis, Tenn.
Net moves: -42.4%
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20. San Francisco
Net moves: -42.3%
21. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Net moves: -42.3%
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22. Minneapolis
Net moves: -41.9%
23. Dayton, Ohio
Net moves: -40.8%
24. St. Paul
Net moves: -37.7%
25. Kansas City, Mo.
Net moves: -36.5%
26. Littleton, Colo.
Net moves: -35.3%
27. Irvine, Calif.
Net moves: -34.4%
28. Los Angeles
Net moves: -33.1%
29. Norfolk, Va.
Net moves: -32.4%
30. Chesapeake, Va.
Net moves: -31.3%
See the full ranking of all the cities and the methodology for this study at Hire-a-Helper's annual migration report.
