The report, published Wednesday, found that overall movement in the U.S. is low, which the study attributes to high housing costs and limited inventory. However, long-term moves are still happening at a fairly regular pace, which Atlas says encourages Americans to move for lower taxes, lower housing costs and a better quality of life.

This trend is reflected in many states of the inbound movement, including Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina, Hawaii, Washington, DC, Tennessee, Washington, Alabama, North Dakota and New Hampshire.

In Arkansas, the study found that 38 percent of its inbound moves ended in Bentonville, the Walmart headquarters city. It was the only state where the majority of its bound initiative went to one city. In contrast, other high inbound initiative states saw newcomers spread across the state.

The states with the highest outbound move rates in 2025 include Louisiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, Delaware, Nebraska, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Dakota and South Carolina. This is the second year in a row Louisiana led the most outbound moves. At the city level, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, recorded the most outbound moves.

Despite Louisiana’s migration struggles, the study found that by 2024, three of the top five outbound states had moved from California, Illinois, and New York to a balanced position, which they attributed to the lock-in effect on mortgage rates and the decision of many homeowners not to move.

“Americans are still moving despite changing rates. Some areas of the moving industry, primarily interstate moves, remain constant from year to year. There are always regions and industries that continue to move,” said Ryan McConnell, resident and COO of Atlas One Lines, in a statement.

To construct this report, Atlas examined data from customers who moved between November 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025. Atlas has been conducting annual studies since 1993.