Leaving MD: State Saw More People Move Out Than In For 2022

MARYLAND — The trend of families moving to lower-density areas because of a career change, retirement and family ties continued in 2022, but Maryland didn't lure more people than those who moved out, according to a report from a major moving company.

United Van Lines released its 46th Annual National Movers Study, which indicates Americans were on the move to less crowded areas and to be closer to their families throughout last year.

The annual study, which tracks customers' state-to-state migration patterns among the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia, showed Vermont as the state with the highest percentage of inbound migration (77 percent, 3 points higher than 2021) for the second year in a row.

For the fifth consecutive year, the study found that more residents moved out of New Jersey than any other state, as 67 percent of New Jersey moves were outbound.

Maryland had slightly more outbound moves than inbound, coming in at No. 30 with outbound moves accounting for 51 percent of all United Van Lines' work in the state last year.

Neighboring District of Columbia had a much stronger inbound rate of 59 percent, while Virginia had an inbound rate of 52 percent, to rank No. 21 on the list.

“Key factors like retirement, wanting to be closer to family and lifestyle changes influenced by the pandemic along with current housing prices drove moving patterns in 2022,” said Michael Stoll, economist and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The United Van Lines study encompasses data that Americans are now moving from bigger to smaller cities, mostly in the South, some in the West, but even an increase of migration to the Northeast, which has not been typical. We’re also seeing younger Millennials migrating to vibrant, metropolitan economies, like Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon.”

The UniGroup network, United Van Lines' parent company, classifies any outbound migration of 55 percent or more as "high."

Topping the list of outbound locations was New Jersey (71 percent, down 4 points from 2021). The Garden State has held the basement spot in the survey for the past five years. Illinois (64 percent) and New York (62 percent) ranked 2nd and 3rd among states with the largest exoduses.

Why is everyone so keen on going someplace else? A nationwide survey of United Van Lines' customers indicates it comes unsurprisingly down to job and family. Around 33 percent of those surveyed said they either wanted to be closer to their family, or that their employment mandated they get a new ZIP code. The one-third were looking to retire, plotting a lifestyle change, or chasing an improved cost of living.

The previous year's survey results indicated 31.8 percent of Americans who moved did so in order to be closer to family, a new trend that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic as priorities and lifestyle choices shifted.

A little over 20 percent of the mover's customers were newly retired, but Baby Boomers and Gen Xers moved than any other age group in 2022. These demographics accounted for more than 55 percent of all inbound United Van Lines moves last year.

Patch Editor Rich Kirby contributed to this story.