Overall trends in mobility are down, strongly echoed by local moves within the same county, which constitute the majority of moves. Trends in county-to-county and state-to-state moves are also down, but much less. And the trend in moves from abroad are essentially flat since the midpoint of the last century.
Mobility is influenced by many factors, especially economic. Thus in the recessionary 1970s, moves diminished. In the early 1980s, interest rates were high and mortgages unattractive. The Census Bureau explains the peak in the 1984 to 1985 period as due to the easing of interest rates. A pent-up demand for better housing was vocalized, and the peak is, indirectly, a reflection of the decline in mobility in the previous decade or so.
Who is most likely to move? This is answered by looking at the "moving rate." In the most recent period, 1999 to 2000, Asians and Pacific Islanders had the highest moving rate; 18.4% of them moved. They were closely followed by Hispanics (18.1%) and by African Americans (17.1%). Non-Hispanic whites came last with a 14.4% moving rate.
To quote from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Reports (May 2001): "Among people who moved, Hispanics and Blacks were most likely to have moved within the same county (63 and 61 percent, respectively), while White non-Hispanics were most likely to have made intercounty and interstate moves (44 percent)… Asians and Pacific Islanders and Hispanics were much more likely than Blacks or White non-Hispanics to have come to the United States from Abroad."
The regional pattern of moves for the 1999 to 2000 period is depicted in the following table. The South has been the biggest net gainer, the Northeast the biggest net loser of population:
Population Changes by Region (in thousands)
| Region | Gains | Losses | Net |
| Northeast | 363 | 615 | -252 |
| Midwest | 722 | 640 | 82 |
| South | 1,258 | 1,031 | 227 |
| West | 763 | 820 | -57 |
In this more recent period, greater numbers of poor people have moved than wealthier — perhaps because those big-footprint homes are comfortable, at last. Central cities have lost population to the suburbs and rural areas to the cities.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Annual Geographical Mobility Rates, By Type of Movement: 1947-2000. July 12, 2000. Online. Available: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/migrate.html.
1 MSAs are sometimes freestanding, sometimes parts of larger aggregates. CMSAs are consolidated metropolitan statistical areas that have a number of MSAs. These components are then called PMSAs or primary metropolitan statistical areas. The hierarchy is freestanding MSA; next comes the PMSA which is part of a larger aggregate; the larger aggregate, holding multiple PMSAs, is the CMSA.
2 The highest in the world is Macao at 73,448, followed by Monaco with 41,235. China has 354. The lowest density reported is 2 for Western Sahara, followed by Mongolia with 4.
3 The actual number may be somewhat less. Those with the lowest incomes — presumably living in the less expensive, low-square footage dwellings — have a lower than average number of household members.
4 In the Terre Haute (Indiana) Express. The statement is usually credited to Horace Greeley, New York Tribune, but Greeley was quoting Soule, whose article he printed in his paper.
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