Washington Remains Top Relocation Destination

Photograph courtesy of Atlas Van Lines.

Yet more proof that Washington is an “it” place to move: Atlas, a moving and storage company, published a report based on its customer moves in 2011 showing that for the sixth year in a row, Washington had the highest percentage of inbound moves. Overall, the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States gained residents based on the moving company’s data. It also reported that Ohio earned the honor of most outbound moves, with the Midwest overall seeing more departures than inbound moves.

Looking at the map above, blue means more inbound than outbound moves, orange signifies more departures, and red indicates the state is roughly split on those moving in and out.

Of course, as often happens with rankings, DC is an outlier because it is counted as a state, even though it’s not. And cities are generally a popular place for inbound moves. Still, with the Mid-Atlantic ranking high on inbound moves and low unemployment for educated workers in the Washington area, it’s no wonder the District came in at the top of the list. Now we just have to ponder what will happen to the region’s traffic with all these shiny new residents.

Kay Steiger