A new search tool from Zillow offers clues into the migratory patterns of U.S. residents. The dashboard, called Search Trends, shows that 10 of the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas saw less than half of home searches come from local residents.
Hartford, Conn., had the fewest home searches originating from locals in February at 41%, according to Zillow. It was followed by New Orleans at 43%; Riverside, Calif., at 45%; and the Florida cities of Jacksonville and Orlando at 46%.
By contrast, New York City saw the largest percentage of home searches from locals, with 81% of search traffic coming from Big Apple residents. Chicago was second at 71% and Los Angeles clocked in at 70%.
However, New Yorkers also tended to explore new homes in warm-weather cities. About 8% of home searches in February for Miami homes came from people in New York City. That was the highest percentage among non-bordering states, according to Zillow. New Yorkers also comprised 5% of page views for Orlando listings and 4% of searches for homes in the North Carolina cities of Charlotte and Raleigh.
Zillow noted that most out-of-town searches tend to come from nearby areas. For example, 30% of Riverside home searches came from Los Angeles and 22% of searches for Baltimore homes originated from people in Washington, D.C.