Florida, schmorida.
After enjoying a pandemic-era boom where many a weary northerner packed up and moved to the Sunshine State, the bloom is off the citrus tree, new research suggests.
In 2024, apparently, it’s all about the Carolinas — their coast, their mountains, their more temperate climate and — most importantly — their affordable cost of living, say the moving pros at PODS, who’ve analyzed heaps of customer data to identify the latest trends.
If true, that shows a considerable reversal in just one year. In 2023, Florida practically owned the list of most moved-to cities, with six in the Top 20 and five in the Top 10.
This year, South Florida is the third most fled, right behind much-maligned Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, the numbers showed.
The data analysts blamed, among other things, a combination of predicted economic slowing and increased insurance rates — more than 19.8% above the national average over the last two years, according to a report from digital agency Insurify — for the slowdown in Florida’s recently white hot market.
According to Zillow, the average value of a Florida home increased by just 3.3 percent this year — below the national average of 4.1 percent.
The picture is said to be brighter — and breezier — in the Myrtle Beach, S.C./Wilmington, N.C. region, which PODS dubbed the most moved-to for 2024 — just like it was in 2023.
Only this time, the Carolinas closed ranks and dominated the list, with Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. all making the Top 10.
No-income-tax Tennessee, with its “thriving job market” and “positive economic outlook” is also enjoying a significant uptick in popularity, the study showed, with Knoxville, Nashville and the Tri-Cities all making the Top 20 list.
All three metro areas have lower-than-average median ages in the mid-30s. The data showed that many of the movers are coming to the Volunteer State from California, Florida and Texas.
Overall, cost of living continued to dominate the list of reasons why people moved at all — the top five regions being abandoned by those in search of affordability contained just one surprising outlier: Austin, Tex., only recently touted as the next hot market.
Meanwhile, five regions in the Tri-State made this year’s most-moved-from hall of shame, including New York’s Hudson Valley, currently facing a significant cost-of-living crisis. The Big Apple proper did not show up on this year’s ranking.
Cities with the highest number of move-ins, ranked
- 1. Myrtle Beach, SC/Wilmington, NC
- 2. Ocala, FL
- 3. Houston, TX
- 4. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- 5. Charlotte, NC
- 6. Raleigh, NC
- 7. Phoenix, NC
- 8. Knoxville, TN
- 9. Jacksonville, FL
- 10. Asheville, NC
Cities with the highest number of move-outs, ranked
- 1. Los Angeles
- 2. Bay Area
- 3. South Florida
- 4. Long Island
- 5. Austin, TX
- 6. Central NJ
- 7. Chicago
- 8. San Diego
- 9. Stockton-Modesto, CA
- 10. Hudson Valley, NY
