A new beginning, access to nature, better job prospects, better school districts — the reasons people may relocate their homes and families are various and unpredictable but generally respond to a need for economic opportunity or improved living conditions.
Last year, however, the national residential mobility rate dropped to its lowest level since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking the statistic more than 75 years ago.
In 2024, just 11% of the population changed addresses, down from 14.3% in 2015 and 20% in the 1960s, according to a recent analysis of Census data by Point2Homes, a rental listing platform owned by Yardi Systems Inc., a property management technology firm.
Of those who moved, only 19.3% changed states in 2024, slightly lower than the 20.1% who relocated across state lines in 2023. The trend toward staying put has drivers and symptoms that mutually reinforce the move away from mobility, according to Point2Homes.
The U.S. homeownership rate has risen from roughly 45% at the beginning of the 20th century to 65% post-2008 financial crisis, says Point2Homes. Homeownership has a tethering effect, though trading homes by selling and moving has historically been a feature of more mobile eras.
Rising housing costs exacerbated by persistent supply shortages in many markets around the country have limited people’s flexibility to trade homes. Meanwhile, the rise in remote work and economic uncertainty have shrunk the pool of people willing to risk switching jobs just to switch scenery.
Declining mobility caused by these pressures affects economic resilience by “limiting labor market flexibility, slowing wage growth and potentially reducing innovation as workers are less likely to move for better opportunities,” the analysis reads.
Between renters and homeowners, renters remain predictably more mobile than homeowners. Sixty-one percent of all movers in 2024 were renters while 39% were homeowners, though each cohort moved less than historic norms.
Out of the large metro areas Point2Homes tracked, San Jose, Calif., attracted the highest share of renters from out of state. Close to 91% of people who moved to that Silicon Valley city last year chose to rent. It was followed by Austin, Texas (88.9%) and Boston (87.2%).
On the flip side, cities that attracted the most interstate homeowners included Fort Worth, Texas (53.3%), Fresno, Calif. (49.9%) and Kansas City, Mo. (42.6%). Jobs, cost of living and lifestyle options drive higher mobility in these markets, says Point2Homes.
Among same-state movers, San Francisco (86.2%), Austin (83.9%), Boston (82%) and Los Angeles (82%) had the largest share of renters join their communities from elsewhere in those states. Nashville, Tenn. (39%), Mesa, Ariz. (38.8%) and Louisville, Ky. (34.5%) claimed the highest share of same-state homeowners relocating to their cities.
