Top 10 states Americans most want to move to, according to moveBuddha

January U.S. Census data shows Americans are flocking to Sunbelt states, and a new report from moveBuddha says that trend remains strong.

The relocation technology company used proprietary data collected from 2020 to October 1, 2025 to analyze relocation trends. moveBuddha used the company’s Moving Cost Calculator to calculate rates using an in/out ratio formula based on the number of queries to be moved divided by the number of queries to be moved.

Four of the top 10 states people most want to move to are located in the South, according to the report.

“The pattern is unmistakable: Americans want square footage for quality of life, big cities for mid-markets, and higher costs for breathing space,” the report said.

Ryan Carrigan, founder of moveBuddha, told CNBC Make It that the report confirms this trend that has been established for some time. That means people are moving south.

“This is a very popular place to move to. I think there’s a lot of affordability and housing availability. Those things are huge factors in terms of people moving here,” he says.

Carrigan also said the report shows that some of the trends in COVID-19 infections are beginning to reverse, as evidenced by California’s modest out-migration rate. Despite this, California remains a secession state and has one of the lowest in-migration rates in the country.

“We had to reverse at some point, but we don’t see any improvement in California. We still have a lot of challenges: cost of living, unemployment, natural disasters. All the people who were going to retire have left, but they’re also benefiting from the AI ​​boom, especially now in Northern California,” he added.

Internal/external ratio: 1.97

South Carolina has been the most popular state to move to for the sixth year in a row. Movers are more than twice as interested in relocation than moving.

The report says one big reason for this trend is that the state remains affordable and has access to nature, which is driving job growth. South Carolina was one of the five states with the highest net moving-related searches at 13.7%.

Carrigan said another reason South Carolina topped the list is because it’s a state with a large number of retirees. According to the 2021 Population Reference Bureau report, 18.7% of South Carolina’s population is age 65 or older.

“Young people aren’t moving as much, and since COVID-19, they’ve been less active overall,” he says. “South Carolina benefits from being a retirement state, still has a significant portion of its population moving there, and it’s also a story where there is still affordability and housing availability.”

According to Missouri Economic Research and Information Center data collected in 2024, South Carolina is the 27th most livable state. According to RentCafe, the cost of living in South Carolina is 9% lower than the national average. Home prices are 18% lower than the national average, but utility bills are 10% higher.

The average home price in South Carolina is $302,294, down 0.8% over the past year, according to Zillow.

According to moveBuddha, North Carolina ranks second among the most popular states to move to. The state’s ratio of residents outside the prefecture was 1.61. North Carolina also had the highest amount of online searches for people moving to the state from other states in 2025.

Carrigan said North Carolina, like South Carolina, ranks highly because of the number of retirees who continue to move there. While Florida has been a popular state to move to during the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina remains affordable, while Florida is not, he said.

“North Carolina remains a strong candidate for relocation and has a beautiful coastline,” he added.

North Carolina was ranked the #1 state for business in CNBC’s annual survey. This is the third time in the past four years that they have won the top spot. It was first in 2022 and 2023, and second in 2021 and 2024.

The study says North Carolina’s biggest strengths are in the economy, workforce, and business-friendliness categories. The state’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew steadily at 3.7% last year, ranking fifth in the country. The state added more than 60,000 jobs last year.

The cost of living in North Carolina is in line with the national average. According to RentCafe, home prices are 14% lower than the national average and utility costs are 2% lower.

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