Economy

Map Reveals Where Americans Are Moving for Cheap Rent and Better Jobs

June 4th 2016

Big city life is not appealing to residents leaving these locales in droves, downsizing to cheaper pastures.

The economy may be on the up-and-up, but the same can't be said about Americans' appetites for high-priced housing and withering job markets characteristic of the country's largest cities.

An average apartment within 10 miles of New York City, the locale where the most residents are fleeing, costs a staggering $3,519, according to Rent Jungle.

And to own a median-priced home in Los Angeles, a buyer would need to have, oh, around $600,000 hanging around, which might explain why home sales in the city are on the decline. If residents are fortunate enough to find employment in L.A., which is frequently reported to have one of the worst job markets in the country, they shouldn't expect a salary that's commensurate with the cost of living. The average worker in L.A. earns an annual income of $55,870, according to L.A. Weekly.

Using the U.S. Census Bureau data, the website Moving.com, and its own site, Realtor.com conducted an analysis to determine which cities were losing residents and which cities were gaining them.

What cities people are leavingRealtor.com - realtor.com

The results shouldn't come as a surprise.

Moving mapRealtor.com - realtor.com

"America’s largest cities are losing armies of residents, and there just aren’t enough people moving in to compensate," Realtor.com states.

So where's everyone headed?

People are basically looking to move to cities that are the exact opposite of the cities they ditch. These are areas with affordable housing and booming job markets, Realtor.com reports. This makes Florida a very attractive choice.

Realtor.com chartRealtor.com - realtor.com

Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando ranked in the top 10 for gaining the most residents, rendering Florida the top state for new moves. And not for the reason you think. Florida may be known as a haven for seniors, but scores of Millennials are moving there, too. The state does not have income tax, but job creation is thriving there, Realtor.com reports.

Something else Florida has working in its favor is the fact that it's still recovering from the crash, which means home prices are recovering as well.

A median-priced home in the Tampa metro area costs about $138,800, according to Bankrate.

Texas is another popular state for relocations, namely the cities San Antonio and Austin. The latter boasts a population of 2 million, which is eight times larger than it was 50 years ago, thanks to a surge in tech companies — IBM, Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel, and Samsung — setting up shop there.

So are Americans finally realizing that city life isn't everything it's made out to be?

"Who knew, that my happy place ended up being almost literally right outside my front door all of my life?" Jill Valentino, a resident of Orange County, New York, who couldn't wait to move to Manhattan as a teen, writes in Country Living.

She adds:

"My teenaged self would never have believed it. But it's true. There's no place like home, so long as home isn't the city."

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