Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

It will come as no surprise that more and more people are moving to Knoxville. In fact, they’re moving here over almost every other city in the country.

PODS Enterprises, LLC, the industry leader in portable moving and storage solutions, identifies the top 20 cities people are moving to with the release of their third annual relocation trends report. The report analyzes consumer movements throughout the past fifteen months, identifying the environmental factors that inspired these trends.

This is the second year in a row that southern states have seen a larger influx of residents compared to any other region, with more than 80 percent of the destinations on the list being in the south. The entire list is as follows, with last year’s rankings in parentheses:

1. Myrtle Beach, SC/Wilmington, NC (6)
2. Sarasota, FL (1)
3. Orlando, FL (9)
4. Ocala, FL (5)
5. Houston, TX (12)
6. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (2)
7. Knoxville, TN (7)
8. Jacksonville, FL (11)
9. Tampa Bay, FL (4)
10. Greenville–Spartanburg, SC (14)
11. Nashville, TN (3)
12. Melbourne, FL (15)
13. Portland, ME (20)
14. San Antonio, TX (13)
15. Boise, ID (19)
16. Charlotte, NC (18)
17. Asheville, NC (17)
18. Phoenix, AZ (10)
19. Savannah, GA
20. Raleigh, NC

Economics appears to be the largest factor influencing consumers’ decisions to move, with low tax rates, warmer weather, and more affordable housing prices being the main motivators behind consumer choices. This is different from the 2022 report, where people were primarily influenced by the opportunity to work remotely and moved to be closer to loved ones. Cities with higher crime rates, turbulent weather, and higher costs of living saw a greater loss in residents compared to others.

To learn more about PODS’ annual moving trends analysis, click here.

---