Ohio a national leader for in-state moves; Florida top source of those moving to Buckeye State

Fewer people moved into and around Ohio in 2021, and the vast majority of Ohio residents who recently moved came from other places within the state, according to new Census data released this week.

Nationally, Ohio trailed just one other U.S. state — California — for the share of its movers who came from other in-state locations.

Ohio saw its largest influx of new residents from Florida, which overtook Kentucky as Ohio’s leading source of state-to-state migration.

One study found that the top reason people moved to Ohio was to be closer to family.

“We’re seeing that lifestyle changes — including the increased ability to work from home — and wanting to be closer to family are key factors in why Americans are moving today,” Eily Cummings, vice president of corporate communications at United Van Lines, said after the company released its 2021 annual movers study.

About 1.4 million Ohio residents said they moved within the last year in 2021, which was down from about 1.6 million residents who moved in 2019, according to new U.S. Census data from the American Community Survey.

About 12% of Ohio’s population changed homes in the previous 12 months, and about 87% of Ohio residents who moved relocated from other places within the state.

California was the only U.S. state that had a higher share of movers from in-state locations (90%).

At the other end of the spectrum, fewer than 58% of Vermont residents and Delaware residents who had moved in the previous year came from somewhere else within those tiny states.

Biggest increases

In 2021, Ohio gained more new residents from Florida than any other state (14,785 people). Kentucky had been Ohio’s leading source of in-migration in 2019, before the pandemic. Florida ranked third that year.

Of course, Kentucky borders Ohio, while Florida is 1,060 miles away.

Ohio’s second leading source of transplants from other states was Pennsylvania, its neighbor to the east.

A 2021 study by United Van Lines found that people moved to Ohio primarily for family and jobs. Less common reasons included retirement, lifestyle and health.

The interstate moving company said Ohio offers a low cost of living, short commutes, good colleges and plenty of opportunities to explore.

The annual movers survey said about 44% of people who moved to Ohio did so to be closer to family.

Many Floridians have family members in Ohio. Census data show that about 523,300 people who were born in Ohio now reside in the Sunshine State.

Florida, the third most-populous state in the nation, attracts more residents from Ohio than it loses to the Buckeye State. It gained 22,440 residents from Ohio in 2021.

Florida was the fifth-leading state for inbound moves in 2021, while Ohio had the ninth-most outbound moves, United Van Lines said.

While Florida has warm weather, beaches and other attractions, Ohio has some advantages, such as greater affordability.

Florida was the 36th-cheapest state in overall cost of living, according to U.S. News & World Report, while Ohio ranked 19th-cheapest. The rankings were based on regional price parity data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Factoring out the larger Tampa and Orlando, even in smaller cities, the cost of living in Daytona Beach, Florida, is about 3% higher than living in Dayton, according to Bankrate. And the cost of living in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, is 6% higher than in the much larger Columbus, Ohio’s capital.

Cummings, with United Van Lines, said the states with the largest populations are going to send the most people to other states.

“For instance, almost every continental state has high inbounds from Texas, Florida and California in their top five,” she said. “Even though of those three, only California is a state that we see more traffic out of than into.”

Ohio received its second most new residents from Pennsylvania in 2021 (14,180), while California contributed the third most (12,850 people).

California has the most people of any state in the nation, while Pennsylvania ranks fifth. Ohio is the seventh most populous U.S. state.

Census estimates suggest that Ohio gained no new residents from Nebraska in 2021, and the state only lured 115 people away from Wyoming, Vermont and Maine that year.

Wyoming and Vermont are the smallest states in the country by population.

Cummings said Ohio has been more of an “outbound state,” going back several years, with more people leaving than coming in.

But she said Ohio since the pandemic has become more balanced when it comes to inbound and outbound moves.

By the numbers

1.4 million: Number of Ohioans who moved in 2021

1.2 million: Number of Ohio residents who moved from other places in Ohio

184,475: Number of Ohio residents who moved here from out-of-state

U.S. states with largest share of in-state movers

California: 89.6% of residents who moved in the most recent measured year already lived in the Golden State

Ohio: 86.9% of residents who moved in the state already lived in the Buckeye State

States sending most residents to Ohio

Florida: 14,785