For the past 46 years, United Van Lines has done a study tracking state-to-state migration patterns. The results from 2022 were just released and it appears that the interest in moving to Idaho is waning. 

Idaho first appeared on their “Top States to Move To” list in 2014 in the #10 spot. After that, the secret was out. We jumped to #4 in 2015 and 2016, #3 in 2017 and 2018 and #1 in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, our popularity as a new home started to cool and we fell to #9. This year? Our run in the top 10 came to an end. 

The United Van Lines VP of Corporate Communications explained why Idaho is no longer a top destination by saying:

“With an influx of new residents, housing prices and other living costs start to increase over time, and these popular destinations become hot spots for inflation. As a result, the study underscored that Americans are moving from expensive cities to lower-density, more affordable regions.”  

Now, before you get too excited we didn’t plummet all the way to the bottom of the list. When we downloaded their full data set, they had Idaho ranked #15 with 55% inbound traffic and 45% outbound traffic. 

Why Are People Leaving Idaho?

Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash
Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash
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The amount of outbound traffic from Idaho is up 5.5% from 2021 and 15.2% from 2020. While conducting their survey, United Van Lines asks people about the motivation behind their move. In 2022, about 57% of the people who left Idaho said that they were moving for family reasons. Almost 23% said they were leaving for a job opportunity. Retirement and cost of living tied for third place with 11.43%. 

Who is Leaving Idaho?

Family Carrying Boxes Into New Home On Moving Day
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Baby Boomers over the age of 65 accounted for 41.67% of the outbound traffic from Idaho last year, followed by 25% of Gen Xers between the ages of 45-54. As far as the income level of those moving? It was surprisingly balanced. Those making $50,000-$74,999 and $100,000-$149,999 a year each accounted for 25% of the outbound traffic. Those making $0-$49,999 and $150,000+ each accounted for 20%. 

Who’s Still Interested in Idaho?

Portrait Of Mature Couple Carrying Boxes On Moving Day In Front Of Dream Home
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Simply put, Boomers and Gen Xers who are making good money. People 55 and older made up nearly 74% of people who moved to Idaho in 2022. Nearly 73% of people who moved here have a household income of $100,000 or more. 

So, Which States Made 2022’s Top 10?

We dug into the United Van Lines list, compiled some things that are attractive about each state and put together this list for you. Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia, and New Hampshire also placed ahead of Idaho when it came to inbound traffic in 2022.

New Study Reveals 10 Appealing States People Moved to Instead of Idaho

For the first time since 2013, Idaho did not appear on in the top 10 states people are moving to in the annual United Van Lines National Movers Study. These were the 10 states people chose over Idaho in 2022.

KEEP READING: Boise Residents Are Abandoning the Treasure Valley for These 15 Appealing Cities

Stacker recently put together a list of which cities people are moving to when they leave Boise. We dug into some of the Niche data for those cities to try and figure out why they're more appealing than our little neck of the woods. Home prices come from Realtor.com. Rent stats come from the most recent rental rate information available on Apartments.com (except Pocatello, they didn't give that figure so the rate quoted is from Niche.) These numbers reflect the current inventory of houses and apartments as of November 29, 2022.

12 of the Poorest Towns and Cities in Idaho

We used the same formula that Roadsnacks used for their 2021 list, but updated the data to reflect the most recent American Community Survey data available from the US Census Bureau.

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