Maps reveal the places that Americans want to move to the most

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Americans have permanently moved around, but today, our horizons are broader. In fact, the average U.S. Resident moves 11.4 times in their lifetime. The culture of economic migration has been rooted since before the Gold Rush, but encouragements are two-pronged. Some move in the desire for the American Dream, and some relocate by necessity. And then, some are replaced when others arrive. But where do all these Americans want to move to? Home warranty company American Home Shield found out which cities, states, and overseas destinations Americans consider relocating to and which U.S. states and cities they most want to leave.

Methodology

The data on search volumes for each “moving to… ” keyword term defines the average quantity of monthly searches and was got from Google Ads API using DataForSEO, with search volumes recorded with the location set to a given U.S. state or city. In situations where the average number of monthly searches bound multiple destinations, the destination with the highest total search volume over the past year was selected as the most searched.

According to Wikipedia, cities were chosen as the top 100 from the most populated list. Coordinates of cities were obtained from Simplemaps.com, while coordinates of nations were taken from Google’s Developer Guidelines. The distance between the origin city and the destination place was calculated as great-circle distance, i.e., the distance between 2 points on a sphere.

Which States Do U.S. Residents Want to Relocate To?

American Home Shield team discovered Florida is the top state that other U.S. residents want to move to, coming up as the most searched-for destination state in the majority (22) of states. One of the most fantastic attractions of Florida is its status as one of the warmest states all year round and as one of only nine states where residents don’t have to pay income tax.

Which U.S. States Do People Want to Move Out of the Most?

Alaskans are the most eager to move out of their U.S. state: every month in 2021, there were an average of 474.5 moving-related Google searches made in Alaska per 100,000 of the state’s population. Though the northernmost state is the largest in the nation, it’s also the loneliest, counting 1.3 residents per square mile. Alaska is also one of the most expensive states to live in.

Which Countries Do U.S. Residents from Each State Want to Move To?

Canada is the most popular international destination for U.S. residents to think about moving to, coming up as the most searched-for destination in 42 U.S. states. It’s no wonder Canada is so popular: based on factors like housing conditions and job security, Canada boasts some of the best living conditions for residents’ well-being worldwide.

Which U.S. City Do Residents From Other U.S. Cities Want to Move To?

New York City proves the dreamiest destination for city dwellers all over the U.S. looking to move. In the majority (52) of the most populated cities in the country, Google queries about moving to the Big Apple were more frequent than in any other city. NYC’s reputation as one of the world’s most important cultural capitals no doubts influences many of those looking to move to another town.

Which Country Do Residents From The Largest U.S. Cities Want to Move To?

In most (68) of the most populated U.S. cities, “moving to Canada” received more monthly Google hits on average in 2021 than in any other country. It’s easy to see why emigrating north is such an attractive prospect for residents in the states; in recent years, Canada has consistently ranked higher than the U.S. in the UN’s World Happiness Report.

Key findings

• The most typically searched relocation destination in 22 U.S. states is Florida, making it America’s most desirable state to move to.
• In Alaska, 474.5 searches out of every 100 thousand are relocation-themed–making it the U.S. state that residents most want to leave.
• On a city and state level, the country most Americans consider living in is Canada.
• Residents in 52 of the 100 largest U.S. cities search for information on relocating to NYC, making it America’s most desirable city.