Idaho leads nation in inbound moves

first published in Idaho Business News, January 8, 2020 . Written by Catie Clark.

Idaho led the nation in 2019 for the highest percentage of inbound moves: 63% of all interstate moves to or from Idaho were people who moved in, according to the Atlas Van Lines annual study of migrations patterns.

Interstate and cross-border residential moves from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 13, 2019. Blue states are inbound, red states are balanced, yellow states are outbound. The top number is outbound, the bottom number is inbound. Graphic courtesy of Atlas Van Lines

Idaho has held either the No. 1 or No. 2 spot for the last five years. The inbound percentage looks at inbound interstate moves versus the total number of both inbound and outbound interstate moves.

This is the third time that Idaho has topped the list for inbound moves. It took the No. 1 spot in 2017 with 65%, and again in 2016 with 63%. In 2018, Idaho was ranked No. 2 with 66%, behind No. 1 Nevada with 68%. It also ranked No. 2 in 2015 with 63%, behind No. 1 Oregon with 64%. Idaho has been an inbound state since 2013. It was ranked as balanced for 2010-2012.

The trio of Idaho, Oregon and Washington have seen more people moving in than out from 2014 through 2018. In the same time period, Wyoming has had more people move away than move into the state. Both Utah and Montana have been balanced in the number of moves in and out. Nevada became an inbound state in 2017; prior to that, its inbound and outbound moves were balanced.

For the first time in three years, the Western states fell in 2019 to the second-highest percentage of inbound moves across the United States. The West was home to three of the leading inbound states for 2019: Idaho, Washington and New Mexico.

Atlas issues their study every year based on in-house data from their 430 moving agents in the U.S. and Canada. The company is one of the largest moving businesses in North America. They have conducted their migration study since 1993 to track interstate, cross-border (U.S. to Canada only), and international moving patterns as reflected in moves handled by Atlas.

States with an inbound moving percentage of 55% or higher are classified as inbound, meaning more people are moving into the state than those moving out. States with an outbound moving percentage of 55% or higher are classified as outbound. States where the inbound and outbound move percentages are between 45% and 55% are classified as balanced.