Top Cities People Will Move to in 2009

RISMEDIA, January 15, 2009-With job losses and the housing crisis continuing to weigh heavily in the news as the New Year unfurls, many people are making decisive changes in their lives, including moving. Relocation.com, a leading online consumer resource for moving services, reveals new information on where people are seeking to move to and out of throughout the U.S.

Despite the housing market struggles and a downturn in gaming revenues, Las Vegas still beckons to people looking for a fresh start, according to an analysis of moving requests from 2008 by Relocation.com. The data revealed that on a per-capita basis for cities with more than 1 million people, Las Vegas retained its top spot as the No. 1 destination for people looking to make a long distance state-to-state move.

Although the recession has spared no one area of the country, cities in the West and South continue to appeal to people relocating, whether it is moving to take a new job or finding a new home with more solid economic opportunities. Las Vegas was followed in popularity by: Denver, Charlotte, N.C., Phoenix/Mesa, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Orlando, Fla., Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Fla. The results are largely consistent with 2007.

“Relocation.com has a unique perspective on consumer moving patterns. We connect them with service providers, but also track interest and trends, ranging from family and home size, to locations where people are moving,” said Sharon (Ron) Asher, chairman and founder, Relocation.com.

The company’s 2009 moving forecast is showing some positive signs for the South, yet some Midwest states show continued signs of decline likely due to economic struggle.

Based on requests for moving quotes in 2008 and leading into 2009, the data is a strong indicator of consumer behavior for the coming year. Michigan and Ohio are declining likely due to automotive industry and other manufacturing job losses. However, North and South Carolina have gained and are expected to keep gaining.

For every 100 people looking to move to Michigan, 210 were looking to move out of the state. Ohioans also saw more people relocating: for every 100 people looking to move to Ohio, 150 requested moving quotes to move out of state.

The biggest beneficiary of these population displacements is North Carolina, which saw nearly 80% more requests to move to North Carolina than to leave (for every 100 people requesting moving quotes to leave the state, 180 indicated they wanted to move to it). South Carolina also saw a jump with nearly 70% more requests to move to the state than to leave, while Texas saw 66% more, and Georgia saw 36% more.

In general, the Northeast, the Great Lakes and the Midwest showed a greater propensity for moving-out requests to exceed moving-in requests, while the South, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest showed gains. The notable exception in the Pacific region is California, a state hard hit by the housing market. It saw more requests to move out of state than to move to the state.

Research Statistics

Relocation.com analyzed nearly 500,000 moving quote requests in 2008 to determine where people are moving. Figures from the U.S. census bureau indicate that 34 million people moved between 2007 and 2008. The company estimates that about three out of four people who make an inquiry on the Relocation.com family of sites, actually move within 12 months, representing nearly 3% of all Americans who move. The Census Bureau says the vast majority of movers in the U.S. make local moves; according to 2006 data, 62% of people making a move stayed within the same county, while 20% moved to a different county but within the same state. Fourteen percent moved state to state, while 3% moved from abroad.