Florida town tops list of in-to-out migration ratios

These cities may be the most desirable.

by Sarah Fortinsky | Apr. 03, 2024

Story at a glance

In a moveBuddha report that gathered data on people’s searches from July 2023 to March 2024 with a “planned move date” at any point in 2024, The Villages, Fla. far outpaced other cities, with an in-to-out move rate of 4.38.

For every 438 planned moved to The Villages in 2024, there were only 100 planned moves out of the city.

Next on the list was Asheville, N.C. with a 3.29 ratio, followed by Myrtle Beach, S.C. with a 3.22 ratio.

The Villages, Fla. topped a list of cities with the highest ratio of people looking to move into the city to those looking to move out.

In a moveBuddha report that gathered data on people’s searches from July 2023 to March 2024 with a “planned move date” at any point in 2024, The Villages far outpaced other cities, with an in-to-out move rate of 4.38. For every 438 planned moved to The Villages in 2024, there were only 100 planned moves out of the city.

Next on the list was Asheville, N.C. with a 3.29 ratio, followed by Myrtle Beach, S.C. with a 3.22 ratio.

The subsequent eight ranking cities had ratios of 2.0 or above: Billings, Mont. (2.41); Decatur, Ga. (2.39); Chattanooga, Tenn. (2.21); Conroe, Texas (2.14); Cheyenne, Wyo. (2.13); Burlington, Vt. (2.11); Boulder, Colo. (2.1); and Eugene, Ore. (2.0).

No. 12 through No. 25 on the list were cities with ratios above 1.0: Little Rock, Ark. (1.97); Henderson, Nev. (1.95); Boise, Idaho (1.88); Olympia, Wash. (1.59); Anchorage, Alaska (1.58); Charlottesville, Va. (1.55); Des Moines, Iowa (1.5); Wilmington, Del. (1.48); Honolulu, Hawaii (1.48); Overland Park, Kan. (1.47); Sioux Falls, S.D. (1.46); Hartford, Conn. (1.45); Grand Rapids, Mich. (1.45); Portland, Maine (1.41).

According to the report, published in March 2024, the urban exodus trend seen in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic is beginning to fade, as many potential movers begin to eye some medium-sized metropolitan areas.

The report describes many of the top-ranking locations as “outdoor cities” with “progressive arts.”

On the list of 25 cities with the highest ratios, 23 of them have below-average home prices, according to the report. The average city on the list of top 25 is home to about 200,000 people, according to the report.