Between 2006
and 2007, 38.7 million people moved in the United States: 25.2 million stayed
in the same county, 7.4 million moved to a different county within the same state,
4.9 million moved to a different state and 1.2 million moved to the U.S. from
abroad.
These statistics are from Geographical
Mobility: 2007, a series of tables that describe the movement of people in
the United States. The tables include data on why people moved, types of moves,
distance moved and the characteristics of those who moved in 2007.
The
Northeast had the lowest moving rate (9 percent), followed by the Midwest (13
percent), the South (14 percent) and the West (15 percent). The moving rates for
the South and the West were not significantly different.
Housing-related
issues – such as the desire to own a home or to live in a better neighborhood
– were the most common reasons given for moving (42 percent), followed by
family-related issues (30 percent), employment reasons (21 percent) and other
(7 percent). For those moving to the U.S. from abroad, more people listed employment
as their reason (52 percent) than any other.
Of the 12.3
million people who moved to another county, the largest group moved less than
50 miles (42 percent); 22 percent moved more than 500 miles.
The
black population had the highest moving rate (17 percent) among race and ethnic
groups, followed by Hispanics (16 percent), Asians (15 percent) and non-Hispanic
whites (12 percent).
Other findings included:
- Among
movers in metropolitan areas, principal cities experienced a net loss of 1.9 million
people in 2007. In contrast, the suburbs had a net gain of 2 million people.
- About 1.2 million people moved to the United States from abroad.
Of that group, 93 percent moved to metropolitan areas. About 52 percent moved
to principal cities, while 42 percent moved to the suburbs.
- People
who were ages 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 had the highest moving rates (27 percent and
26 percent) in 2007. The majority in both age groups moved within the same county
(66 percent and 63 percent). Neither of the comparisons within these age groups
was statistically different from the other.
- Of those who moved
within the same county (ages 20 to 24 and 25 to 29), the main reason for moving
was housing related (45 percent and 52 percent).
- People who were
separated and people who were married with their spouse absent were the most likely
to move, while those who were widowed were the least likely to move. People who
were never married were more than twice as likely to move as people who were married
with their spouse present.
- Nearly one-third (29 percent) of renters
changed residences between 2006 and 2007, compared with about one in 15 who lived
in owner-occupied housing (7 percent).
- For the population 16
and over, those who were unemployed (23 percent) were more likely to move than
those who were employed (14 percent) or those not in the labor force (10 percent).
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