50 Awesome Moving Industry Statistics for 2023

Did you know that the average American moves nearly 12 times throughout their life? That’s a lot of new spaces and faces! Despite inflation, periodic recessions, market fluctuations, and even a pandemic, the moving industry and its moving services are an economic and social juggernaut that generates a staggering $86 billion in annual revenue.

At Oncue, we pride ourselves on using information like this to help our movers achieve more —and who doesn’t love some useful data? With that in mind, we’re pleased to launch our annual list of moving statistics that help us predict the moving industry trends that will shape our clients’ business and forecasts.

Before we dive into our yearly list of moving industry statistics, let’s look at some of the most common trends and moving costs that influence each one!

According to the 2021 US Census Bureau Migration Report, the US population is growing, but fewer people are moving, reflecting the current moving trends. Of Americans that did move, the Census reported that approximately 250,000 people relocated to the Southern US while about 227,000 moved to the Northeastern US – an overall migrational decline of 0.9% from 2020.

The US Census Bureau report notes that, while moving rates were slightly higher in 2020, the global pandemic did not significantly impact the overall moving statistics, which has steadily declined following 1995’s spike in movers and the moving rate.

Now, on to the specifics! Here are several moving industry stats you might not know:

#3 The average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime

#4 Approximately 27 million Americans move each year (8.4% of Americans)

#5 Around 3 million Americans make an interstate move every year

#6 82% of Americans move within their home state

#7 11% of Americans move to a different state

#8 People moving abroad account for only 4% of all moves

#9 People are staying local: 65% of all moves in the US are in-state, and occur within the same county

#10 The top reasons people move are housing-related (40%), followed by family-related (27%) then job-related (21%)

#11 Professional movers handle approximately 650,000 relocations per year

#12 Moving rates are on the decline – the number of people moving each year is about half the of what it was in the 1960s

#13 Around half of all moves take place in the summer, between the beginning of May and Labor Day.

#14 The most common items people move are household goods, electronics and office equipment.

#15 There are around 50,000 moving trucks in the U.S.

The moving industry is one of the largest industries in the US. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that over 6 million people are employed as hand laborers and material movers across the country, with a growth outlook of over 6% by 2031! That’s a lot of helping hands to assist with your next move.

Check out these other interesting facts about the economic outlook and employment trends in the moving industry:

#16 The moving industry has a yearly revenue of $86 billion

#17 The industry employs 122,600 people

#18 The combined annual payroll of the industry is around $3.6 billion

#19 Moving industry workers contribute an estimated $9.42 billion in tax revenue each year

#20 The market size of the moving industry increased by 1.8% in 2022

#21 The moving services industry is the 18th ranked Transportation and Warehousing industry by market size and the 395th largest in the U.S.

#22 The average cost for an interstate move is $4,100

#23 The average cost for an in-state move is $980

As of November 2022, the US Census Bureau notes that the average homeownership rate in the US is 66%, up just slightly (0.6%) from November 2021. Median house prices and rental rates are also rising, with the average rent exceeding $1,400 and the average home price exceeding $300K.

Increased rental and home price rates are key indicators of an economic recession, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that people will press pause on their plans to relocate, especially with the availability of a moving truck.

Renters, especially those with flexible or remote working schedules, may opt to relocate to take advantage of lower housing rates or more convenient access to amenities. Potential homeowners may take advantage of the lower interest rates or extended mortgage terms often offered to first-time homebuyers.

Here’s a look at who’s moving and why:

#24 The average “movers” are between 18 and 34 years old with one or two children

#25 Millennials (age 25 to 35) are moving less than previous generations, with 20% of Millennials reporting a move this past year in comparison to 26% of Generation X in 2000

#26 The moving industry is comprised mostly of small businesses – 47.8% of moving companies in the U.S. have fewer than five employees

#27 8.5% of moving companies employ more than 100 people

#28 44% of Americans moving are individuals/families

#29 38% of moves are corporate

#30 16% of moves are military-related and funded

#31 2% of moves are made by government agencies

As noted in Demographic Moving Statistics, homeownership rates rose slightly in 2022, mostly within the Northeast and Western US. Tracking where people move across a span of time can help identify or lend context to other census findings, like median household income, employment rates, etc.

Check out how and where people are moving in 2022!

#32 The busiest interstate routes are California to Texas, New York/New Jersey to Florida, and California to Washington

#33 The top states people moved to in 2021 are Idaho, New Mexico, and Maine

#34 The top states people moved from are New York, California, Illinois, and District of Columbia

#35 Approximately 250,000 people relocated to the Southern US

#36 227,000 people moved to the Northeastern US

While the COVID-19 pandemic may not have influenced the overall US moving rate, lots of people moved in 2020 amidst the challenges of moving during COVID-19! These COVID-19 moving statistics have had a ripple effect throughout the industry.

As remote and hybrid work options increase, we anticipate that 2022 moving trends will remain steady—even with rising interest rates and housing prices affecting the overall housing market.

#37 Approximately a fifth of Americans (22%) moved or know someone who moved due to COVID-19-related reasons

#38 Among U.S. adults who moved due to the pandemic, 28% say the most important reason was to reduce their risk of contracting the virus

#39 Nearly 18.9 million Americans plan to move in 2022 due to remote work, a 2.3% increase from October 2021

#40 Between 14 and 23 million Americans are planning to relocate due to remote work opportunities, and more than half (54.7%) of them are moving more than two hours away from their current location

#41 Of the ~55% of Americans moving due to remote work, 28% are moving more than 4 hours away from their previous residence, and another 13% will move 2-4 hours away.

With the global pandemic (mostly) in the rearview, organizations across the country are taking the opportunity to reassess how, where, and how frequently folks report to an office. As remote and hybrid work schedules become more routine, we see a shift away from cities on the West Coast and in Miami – both urban tech industry strongholds – and increased relocation activity in surrounding areas, like Orlando and Nashville.

#42 Before COVID, the most popular city for Americans to move to was Oakland

#43 During COVID, the most popular city for Americans to move to is Dallas

#44 Increase in migration from expensive cities such as San Francisco and Oakland

#45 Increase in people relocating to less expensive cities such as Orlando, Denver, and Nashville

#46 Increase in Californians leaving San Francisco and Oakland

#47 Increase in Californians moving to Sacramento, Berkeley, and Alameda

The results are in! With homeownership increasing, and relocation for remote work still holding steady, it’s no surprise that our movers continued to enjoy healthy growth (and packed moving schedules!) in H1 2022. Here’s a closer look at some of our biggest accomplishments of the year:

As we move into the busy season, our movers show no signs of slowing down. The booking team has been working hard to provide quality customer service across the US. The number of jobs booked with Oncue increased by 71% vs. Q2 2021. This resulted in an 81% increase in client revenue from last year to the present.

Oncue helps our movers stay in constant contact with their customers. Over the last three months, movers used Oncue to send over 186,000 emails and 223,000 texts.

Through our exclusive integration with Thumbtack, Oncue also sent more than 6,700 messages to Thumbtack leads in Q2 2022. This is a 90% increase from Q1!

From lead follow-up to payment reminders, Oncue empowers our partners to ensure a seamless communication experience from start to finish – no matter which communication channels they choose.

Not many surprises on this list! These ten states showed major relocation activity in 2022:

• Texas
• California
• South Carolina
• Florida
• Colorado
• Georgia
• Tennessee
• Nevada
• Maine
• Delaware

The first 5 states represented 57.6% of total booked move revenue in Q2!

How are customers finding moving companies? While Google remains the most popular search engine, referral sites and company websites are also excellent lead sources for moving businesses. The three sources that generated the highest number of overall leads for Oncue’s moving companies in Q2 2022 were:

• Google
• Thumbtack
• Moving Company Website

While the highest-quality leads (i.e., those with the highest conversion rates) were generated by:

• Moving Company Website (73%)
• Repeat Customer (62%)
• Referral (51%)

Are you interested in determining which of your lead sources will generate the best leads in 2023? Check out our recent blog article, How To Generate Leads For Your Moving Company.

As we speed through 2023, we’re keeping our eyes and ears peeled for valuable information and resources that benefit our movers. We’ll be back soon with even more cool moving industry stats.

In the meantime:

Learn why more moving companies are using a booking service