PROVIDENCE – Though Americans continue to leave the Northeast, Rhode Island made the top 10 for national moving destinations in 2021, according to a United Van Lines report.
Rhode Island ranked 10th on the list of moving destinations, according to the moving company’s 45th annual National Movers Study, with 59.1% of relocation activity in the state being inbound.
The Ocean State had the same rate of inbound movers in 2020, according to United Van Lines. Rhode Island’s profile as a relocation destination has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with the survey reporting a 52.9% inbound rate for Rhode Island in 2019, and a 50.8% rate in 2018.
Neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts, conversely, made the report’s top 10 list for the states with the highest outbound rates of movers, at 60.1% and 57.6%, respectively.
Vermont took the top spot for inbound movers, at 74%. Though part of the Northeast, Vermont is among the country’s 20 least-populated states, the survey points out, which currently appeals to many movers.
New Jersey had the highest outbound rate of movers, at 71%.
Nationally, people are moving to lower-density areas and to be closer to their families, according to United Van Lines.
More people have cited being closer to family as a reason for moving since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to United Van Lines, while less are moving for a job. While 60% of Americans reported that they moved because of their job in 2015, this number nearly halved by 2021, when 32.5% of movers cited a job change as their reason for relocating.
Most outbound movers in Rhode Island reported they left the state due to retirement-related reasons, at 37.5%, according to the survey, followed by 35% who reported leaving the state due to their job.
The majority of inbound movers into the state were 65 or older, at 23.1%, followed by those in the 35 to 44 age group, at 21.15%. People ages 55 to 64 and 65 or older led in outbound movers, with each age group making up 23.1% of those who left Rhode Island in 2021.
