Americans Are Still Moving Way Less Than They Used To
Jed Kolko | The Atlantic Cities | September 27, 2013 | link
Americans move less than they used to. The percentage of Americans moving each year has dropped from 20 percent during the 1950s and 1960s, down to about 14 percent before and during the 2000s housing bubble, and then to a low point of 11.6 percent in 2011. The drop in mobility means that Americans are staying in the same house longer between moves: from 5 years, on average, in the 1950s and 1960s, to about 7 years before and during the bubble, and 8.6 years in 2013.
Last year, the Census reported an increase in mobility in 2012 to 12.0 percent, led by an increase in longer-distance moves. However, new 2013 data suggest that the mobility rebound we saw in 2012 might have been short-lived.
Using the Current Population Survey micro-data that underlie the published Census mobility tables and report (see note below), we found that mobility in 2013 dropped back down to 11.7 percent, just slightly above the 2011 all-time low of 11.6 percent. Clearly, Americans are not yet back on the move.