One of the nation’s leading movers, Atlas® Van Lines, has released its Annual Migration Patterns Study examining where its customers have moved to and from in the past year. Following several years of unprecedented and unpredictable changes in the economy, housing market, and job market, Atlas’ study provides unique insights into customers’ interstate, cross-border, and international moves. Atlas has published its migration patterns study since 1993, with 2023 marking its 30th annual study tracking moving habits and preferences based on internal data.

Atlas Van Lines’ stats correlate with some national data such as high inbound rates to hot housing markets in Maine and New Hampshire, as well as states that are good for business, including Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. However, many of the country’s most affordable states have seen high rates of outbound moves, particularly in the Midwest, such as Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio.

The 10 U.S. states with the highest percentage of inbound and outbound moves in 2023 are included below in order of highest inbound and highest outbound rates. North Carolina and Maine remain top-desired states from 2022 with New Hampshire making the largest jump from 10th to third. Pennsylvania’s rate of outbound moves dramatically increased in 2023, as did Oregon’s. Meanwhile, the exodus from Indiana has seemed to slow, although it remains high on the outbound list.

2023 Top 10 Inbound					2023 Top 10 Outbound
Maine					Illinois
North Carolina					Pennsylvania
New Hampshire					Louisiana
Montana					Minnesota
Washington					Indiana
Arkansas					Oregon
Florida					Iowa
New Mexico					Mississippi
District of Columbia					New York
Texas					Ohio

How Atlas Determines Status

Each state’s or province’s status is determined by its threshold value, which is the total number of shipments multiplied by 0.55 (i.e., in a state with 100 moves, at least 55 must be outgoing to be considered outbound). All other states or provinces in which outbound or inbound numbers do not exceed the threshold are classified as balanced. Canadian interprovincial and cross-border (from the U.S. to Canada) shipments are both referenced in the study. International moves indicate both states and countries to which Atlas World Group International sent the most shipments from international origin countries in 2023.

To view the full results of the 2023 Migration Patterns Study, along with a nationwide map, regional trends, and historical data, visit www.atlasvanlines.com/resources/migration-patterns.