How does Delaware rank as far as net migration – people moving here from other states compared to residents moving out? It depends on the study.
Delaware ranked fourth in net growth for 2021, according to HireAHelper, an online marketplace for finding, comparing and booking moving transportation and services.
The company’s fourth annual U.S. migration study examined over 90,000 moving jobs booked in 2021, identifying where the biggest swings in population have occurred.
“This has been an extraordinary year with a lot going on politically, socially and economically, and it’s fascinating to see the trend lines that large volumes of moving data can reveal about people’s behavior during this time,” said Miranda Marquit, chief data analyst at HireAHelper.
Among the findings of the migration study were:
Arkansas had 44% more people move in than out – the highest percentage of all states.
For the first time since HireAHelper began publishing its annual study four years ago, more people moved into New York City than out, and in overwhelming numbers with 86% more people moving to the city than leaving.
The city with the largest gain was The Villages, an age-restricted community in Sumter County, Florida, with three times more people moving in than out.
The city with the largest net loss was San Jose, California, where 68% more people left than moved in.
The “Great Resignation” was one of the top reasons Americans said they moved, with 19% saying the pandemic made them reassess their priorities, quit their job and move.
For people who said their move was because of COVID, 37% said they started to work remotely, 35% said they wanted to take advantage of housing prices and 20% said they couldn’t afford their housing costs anymore.
HireAHelper’s 2021-22 Migration Study analyzed over 90,000 local and long-distance moves in the U.S. booked in 2021 through HireAHelper.com and its partner sites, such as SimpleMovingLabor. Additional sources included the U.S. Census Bureau and the HireAHelper customer surveys in August 2021 and December 2021. The study is available at https://www.hireahelper.com/moving-statistics/migration-report/
Only 8% of Americans moved in 2021, the lowest percentage on record, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but 17% of Americans who moved went to a different state, the highest percentage since 2015.
States with the biggest net moving gains
1. Arkansas 43.8%
2. South Carolina 41.7%
3. Maine 33.9%
4. Delaware 27.3%
5. Idaho 22.5%
6. Tennessee 20.4%
7. Florida 16.8%
8. New Mexico 15.3%
9. Alabama 12.0%
10. Utah 6.9%
States with the biggest net moving losses
1. New Jersey -53.4%
2. California -49.5%
3. West Virginia -45.6%
4. Illinois -42.0%
5. Maryland -40.8%
6. Minnesota -39.9%
7. Connecticut -38.4%
8. Ohio -34.5%
9. Pennsylvania -33.3%
10. Kansas -32.1%
Source: HireAHelper
A Delaware Realtor’s viewpoint
Sandi Bisgood, Realtor with Ocean Atlantic Sotheby’s International Realty in Rehoboth Beach, said the overwhelming number of buyers she represents are moving from other states.
In 2021, out of 10 buyer clients who bought homes in Delaware, nine were from out of state including two from New Jersey, two from Washington, D.C., two from Virginia, and one each from Pennsylvania, New York and Florida.
Some of the reasons buyers gave for their interest in the First State include the lifestyle close to the coast, lower taxes and wanting to stay close to relatives.
“I’ve had clients who previously moved farther south and found it was inconvenient to be so far away from family members and friends, so they moved back, to be closer to where they used to live,” Bisgood said.
In another study, Delaware lags
In the growth index released by do-it-yourself moving company U-Haul, Delaware only ranked 30th for net moving gains, down from 27th in 2020.
Growth states are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year. Migration trends are compiled from over 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions each year.
The company uses data from its network of more than 23,000 truck and trailer rental locations in all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. Hawaii is not included in the top 50 because state-to-state U-Haul truck moves don’t occur there, but Washington, D.C. is included.
Texas earned bragging rights as the leading growth state of 2021, with Florida second and Tennessee third. Last year, Tennessee led the rankings with Texas second and Florida third.
“The Texas economy is growing fast,” said Kristina Ramos, U-Haul Company of South Austin president. “With a strong job market and low cost of living, it’s a no brainer. Texas doesn’t have an income tax, so families get more for their money.”
California is 50th and Illinois 49th on the list for the second consecutive year, indicating those states once again witnessed the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.
Select Northeast markets showed year-over-year migration recoveries as Maine rose 21 spots, Vermont 14 spots and Connecticut 25 spots in the U-Haul Growth Index. Yet three of the six states with the largest net losses were also in the Northeast: New York (45), Massachusetts (47) and Pennsylvania (48).
California remained the at the bottom of the list, meaning it had the highest percentage of out-migration, but its net loss of U-Haul trucks wasn’t as severe as in 2020. That can be partially attributed to the fact that U-Haul simply ran out of inventory to meet customer demand for outbound equipment, the company said.
“While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well cities are both attracting and maintaining residents,” the company said in a press release.
Top 10 states in the 2021 U-Haul Growth Index
1. Texas (2nd last year)
2. Florida (3rd last year)
3. Tennessee (1st last year)
4. South Carolina (15th last year)
5. Arizona (5th last year)
6. Indiana (12th last year)
7. Colorado (6th last year)
8. Maine (29th last year)
9. Idaho (30th last year)
10. New Mexico (39th last year)
According to U-Haul, Delaware ranked 30th in 2021, down from 27th in 2020.
Bottom 5 states in the 2021 U-Haul Growth Index
46. Alabama (22nd last year)
47. Massacusetts (47th last year)
48. Pennsylvania (41st last year)
49. Illinois (49th last year)
50. California (50th last year).
Reporter Ben Mace writes about real estate, housing and development. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.
