Houston has been listed among the top cities Americans moved to this summer, according to moving company United Van Lines.
By Carlo Calma
Citizens of Houston may want to make more space for new neighbors as the city has been listed among America’s most popular cities to move to, according to United Van Lines.
The St. Louis-based moving company listed Houston in their “2012 Post-Peak Season Moving Trends Summary,” currently standing in the sixth position, trailing behind Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas. This is the 35th year United Van Lines has been tracking domestic moving trends in the United States.
The Houston Chronicle is further reporting that the city overall saw, “17.4 percent more inbound moves during that time than in the same period last year.”
Furthermore, Michael Stoll, economist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, explained to the Chronicle that, “lower housing costs, Houston’s economic strength in the energy sector [and] energy prices,” were “three notable reasons” as to why Houston made the top of the list.
“Also, international trade has been up recently […] and Houston has benefited from this because of its proximity to the coast and ports,” Stoll added.
United Van Lines’ Methodology
To keep track of the “city-to-city migration” patterns in the country, the company explained in a press release that they analyzed moves during the peak moving season between May 1 and Aug. 31, when “more than 30 percent of all domestic household goods moves take place.”
Carl Walter, vice president of marketing and communications for United Van Lines, explained that their moving management systems allows them to “efficiently track customers’ individual shipments,” and to compile this overall list.
“As the nation’s largest household goods mover, our annual data reflects overall migration trends, giving us a realistic account of which U.S. cities are gaining and losing population,” said Walter in the press release.
The Top 10 Cities Americans Moved To
Based on United Van Lines’ summer moving data, the top 10 popular cities Americans moved to were:
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago
- Atlanta
- Phoenix
- Dallas
- Houston
- Seattle
- Charlotte
- Los Angeles
- Denver
United Van Lines will release their 36th annual migration study, which tracks the most popular destinations during the entire year, in January 2013.
To view the complete list, and to see the top cities that American families were moving away from, visit United Van Lines’ site here.
Planning on making a move to/away from any of the cities listed by United Van Lines? Sound off and tell us why in the comments section!