Affordability and Migration Study

A new study of the 25 most heavily populated U.S. metros tracked migration patterns and housing costs in destination cities. From 2012 to 2016, an average 47 million U.S. residents moved each year.

The New York City metropolitan area was found to be the most populous in the nation, and had 413,000 in-migrants, the most in the study, and the most moving away, 433,900. NerdWallet home expert Holden Lewis says, “There are a lot of factors to consider when trying to understand why people move to a new city, and why some from abroad look to make the United States their new home,” adding, “While some of those reasons might seem obvious, like lower cost of living or relocation for a new job, some factors may be less tied to finances, like wanting to live closer to family or in a more culturally diverse city.”

For this analysis, we looked at the nation’s 25 most populous metro areas. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we analyzed annual migration patterns from 2012 through 2016 and housing affordability data for renters and homeowners from 2017, the most recent year available. We also gathered national data on why people are moving from the 2017 American Housing Survey and commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct an online survey in January 2019.

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