Michigan Leads U.S. Again for Outbound Migration

ST. LOUIS - The Mid-Atlantic and Western regions proved to be popular destinations in 2008 for those looking to change their places of residence. The findings are among the results of United Van Lines' 32nd annual "migration" study (data here), which tracks where its customers moved from and their most popular destinations over the past 12 months.

United has tracked shipment patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2008, the study is based on the 198,962 interstate household moves handled by United among the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. United classifies the states as "high inbound" (55% or more of moves going into a state), "high outbound" (55% or more of moves coming out of a state) or "balanced."

MOVING IN: Mid-Atlantic states came out ahead in 2008, with the District of Columbia (62.1%) reigning as the top destination, North Carolina (58.2%) capturing third place (dropping from the No. 1 spot in 2007) and South Carolina (56.4%) coming in as the seventh highest inbound state. And although it's not considered a high-inbound state, Delaware (54%) showed signs of growth in 2008.

MOVING OUT: The historical data pulled from United's migration study over the past 32 years shows an overall outbound trend for the Great Lakes region. Michigan (67.1%) again captured the top outbound spot, a title held since 2006 (see top chart above). Indiana (57%) also earned the distinction of being a high-outbound state, continuing a 15-year trend. Other Great Lakes states that made the high-outbound list were New York (55.1%) and Illinois (57.2%), both of which have been outbound states since the survey was established in 1977.

MP: The whopping 2:1 ratio of Michigan outbound moves (6,680) compared to Michigan inbound moves (3,277) in 2008 is also reflected in one-way rental rates for U-Haul trucks. For a 26-foot truck, the cost from Detroit to Charlotte, NC is $1,228, almost 5 times times higher than the $268 cost to rent the same truck from Charlotte to Detroit (see bottom chart above).