The moving industry has been on fire recently, along with the general housing market and everything within its reach. Many markets give credit to the COVID crisis for its tremendous growth hence, there is no question that people are on the move.
According to the US Census Bureau, over 27 million Americans moved in 2021. This was arguably the busiest year in history for the household moving industry. So we decided to sit down with a nationwide moving company to get a better perspective on moving trends.
As an interstate nationwide household moving service provider, Belmont Moving & Storage services shipments are traveling across state lines. They offer a great viewpoint for where people are moving and why. Here’s what they had to say:
“Most moves we see are originating from California or the North East”, according to Belmont’s dispatch manager, who manages the routes and schedules for their national service footprint. “I would say that it’s a close call between California and New York as the two most common, but California just due to its sheer size seems to produce more shippers than any other state.”
This information comes as no surprise, as Move.org confirms that California is the most moved out of state in the country. Other studies we’ve found seem to place New York and New Jersey atop their list. So what’s driving the commonality of the exodus from these areas, and where are they going?
“Florida”, according to Belmont; “That’s an easy one.” As an interstate moving company, Belmont says that a large weighted majority of movers choose Florida as their final destination. When we asked about the most moved out of state, there seemed to be some debate around the office depending on which department we asked. However, when we asked about the most moved into the state, the answers were all in agreement. According to Belmont Moving & Storage, Florida is the destination of choice for moves. For people moving from places like California or New York, states like Florida seem to be an attractive choice.
We decided to speak with some moving estimators, who conduct sales discussions with shippers to help us understand why people are moving and what makes new destinations attractive. “COVID is undeniably the main spark behind all of the moves we see, for the most part. The shippers are usually excited to talk about their moves and happy to tell us why they’re leaving.” Naturally, we wanted to know why, and the estimators were happy to oblige us. “They’re leaving cold weather and oppressive politics. People see states with reduced COVID requirements and want to be there. We don’t get political, and this is simply the commonality we hear from our customers when they explain why they’re moving.”
So why Florida? According to WPST in Tampa, they aren’t just coming to soak up the sun. States like Florida aren’t just offering nice weather these days. No personal income tax is a clear draw in comparison to places like California or New York, which in contrast, carry some of the highest taxes in the US. In addition, Florida is a stand-out case because of how it handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Politics aside, the numbers seem to clearly work in favor of the way Florida handled the challenges faced by the pandemic while offering more liberties than many other states in the process. It’s no question that this continues to be attractive to shippers who are coming from states with more strict philosophies on pandemic policy.
Whatever the motivations, people are certainly on the move these days. More so now than ever before. Moving companies like Belmont Moving & Storage say that truck availability is at an all-time low. Between all of the people moving, and the huge national logistic backlog; large shipping vehicles are in high demand. The best advice for any reader considering moving long distance, is to book well in advance.
