Skip to main content

Our Area Continues to Draw US Movers

Written by newmanifest on . Posted in EMTAR.

As a REALTOR® and an EMTAR member, you’ve no doubt met many clients who have moved to Eastern Middle Tennessee and the Nashville area from other cities and states across the US. There’s good reason we’ve been hailed as an “it” destination for almost a decade, after all.

Now, a recently released migration study from Allied sheds new light on this trend and on the places our new residents are moving from, along with some of the places those leaving the Nashville area are going.

Allied Magnet States Report 2022 graphic

Overall, the news is highly positive for the Volunteer State and Music City. Tennessee came in at #4 among “Top Inbound States” in 2022, according to the study, and the Nashville area was #5 among “Top Inbound Cities.”

Granted, in 2022, the heavy relocation pattern from the previous year slowed down as the migratory effects of COVID-19 began to subside. “In fact, moves plummeted in every state, resulting in a 20 percent decrease over last year,” according to Allied. “Rising rents and interest rates, along with inflation and falling wages, meant people moved less in 2022 than they did during the coronavirus pandemic.”

But that doesn’t mean our part of the country saw a big drop-off. Tennessee remains a hot spot for movers.

Where are the new folks coming from as they roll into the Nashville area? The top places were Chicago, Los Angeles-Long Beach CA, Anaheim CA, San Diego CA, and Atlanta. Clearly, lots of Californians are headed this way. (Raise your hand if you’ve bumped into a transplant or two from the Golden State recently.)

As for where those leaving Nashville are ending up, the leading locales include Los Angeles-Long Beach CA, Phoenix-Mesa AZ, Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA, Dallas TX, and Austin-San Marcos TX. So we’re exchanging a few residents back to California, and Texas is an attractive destination for some former Middle Tennesseans.

Other findings of note in the Allied study include:

  • Tuesday is the top day to move, followed by Wednesday and Friday.
  • June is the most popular month to move, followed by July and August. (No surprise there; summer moves still make sense.)
  • Besides Tennessee, the other Top Inbound States in 2022 were Arizona (#1), South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas.
  • In addition to Nashville, the other Top Inbound Cities were Tucson AZ (#1), Sarasota FL, Charlotte NC, and Austin TX.
  • The Top Outbound States were Illinois, California, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
  • The Top Outbound Cities were New York, Anaheim CA, San Diego CA, Chicago, and Riverside CA. (Again, California heads the list.)

What do these findings mean for our EMTAR members?

Among other things, they reinforce some of the truths we all know: that Middle Tennessee is still a destination of choice for Americans relocating from other parts of the country, and that many of those movers will need the expertise, experience, and service focus that REALTORS® and brokers in our community are renowned for providing to buyers and sellers in this active, rapidly changing market.

Let’s keep the welcome mat out, EMTAR. More new neighbors are on their way.

See the full Allied study and more details HERE.