Louisiana again tops the chart for outbound moves

If the continued slow pace of existing home sales wasn’t enough to convince you that fewer Americans are moving, Atlas Van Lines’ 2025 Migration Patterns Study would like you to consider its findings.

Published on Wednesday, the report found that overall mobility in the U.S. is low, which the study attributes to high housing costs and limited inventory. However, long-term moves are still occurring at a fairly regular pace, which Atlas says suggests that Americans are motivated to move for lower taxes, lower housing costs and better cost-of-living ratios. 

This trend is reflected in many of the top inbound move states, which include Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, Washington, Alabama, North Dakota and New Hampshire. 

In Alabama, the study notes that 38% of its inbound moves ended up in the Walmart headquarter city of Bentonville. It was the only state where a majority of its inbound moves went to one city. In contrast, the other top inbound move states saw the newcomers spread out throughout the state.

The states with the highest outbound move rate in 2025 include Louisiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, Delaware, Nebraska, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Dakota and South Carolina. This is the second year in a row Louisiana led the most outbound moves. At the city level, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, recorded the most outbound moves. 

Despite Louisiana’s migration struggles, the study noted that three of the top-five outbound states from 2024, California, Illinois and New York, have moved to a balanced position, which they attribute to the mortgage rate-lock effect and decision of many homeowners to not move unless they have to. 

“Americans are still moving, albeit at changing rates. Some areas of the mobility industry, mainly interstate moves, remain constant year-to-year; there are always regions and industries that are continuing to relocate,” Ryan McConnell, the resident and COO of Atlas Van Lines, said in a statement. 

To construct the report, Atlas examined data from customers who moved between November 1, 2024, and Oct. 31, 2025. Atlas has been conducting the study annually since 1993.