Moving company study finds Texas remains top relocation destination

An annual migration study conducted by Allied Van Lines found that Texas leads the nation as the top relocation destination in the U.S. for 2013 – a ranking the Lone Star state has secured for nine years running – followed by Florida and Arizona.

By contrast, Allied’s Magnet States Report found that New York and Illinois recorded the highest net outbound moves in 2013, according to internal data analyzed by the company.

"Texas has been a strong relocation destination for the last decade," noted Randy Moore, president of All Points Pioneer, an Allied Van Lines agent in the Dallas TX area. "We've seen newcomers from every area of the country find a home in Texas, whether it's for the weather, business or retirement."

Texas' net relocation gain of 1,914 families in 2013 is calculated by the difference between inbound moves and outbound moves performed by Allied Van Lines – handily beating Florida, the next most magnetic state, which had a net relocation gain of 1,115 moves, according to the carrier’s data.

Other factoids gleaned from Allied’s 2013 migration report include:

• California maintained its status as “most mobile state” with just shy of 13,000 moves. However, more of those moves were out of state in 2013.
• California, which had moved to the inbound column in 2011 (No. 7 inbound) and 2012 (No. 8 inbound) has again dropped to become the seventh most outbound state, with a net loss of nearly 400 moves in 2013.
• Other states with higher rates of outbound moves this year include: Washington, moving from the 14th inbound to 19th outbound; Wisconsin, moving from 17th inbound to 23rd outbound; and New Mexico, moving from 20th inbound to 17th outbound.
• Biggest gains for states in 2013 include: Louisiana, moving from 13th outbound to 23rd inbound; Massachusetts, moving from 14th outbound to 20th inbound; Tennessee, moving from 19th outbound to 12th inbound.
• The top five outbound states remain consistent, as they have since 2010. However, New York jumped to the “most outbound state” position from 5th most outbound in 2011 and 2012.  Rounding out the top five are Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey.
• Canadian province British Columbia was the only strongly attractive province in the Allied data, and Ontario experienced the largest net loss of moves, making it the number one outbound province.