Most people move during the spring and summer months, but many would-be movers stayed put this May and June amid higher interest rates and rising rents, according to change-of-address data from the U.S. Postal Service.
Every state saw fewer people moving in compared with the same time last year, but the declines were most pronounced in New York and Maryland, where the number of permanent moves dropped by 14% in May and June compared with the same months last year. Moves declined by 13% in California and Louisiana.
The lowest decrease was in Maine, at 1%. The number of moves to Delaware declined by 3%, and it dropped by 4% in Michigan, Mississippi and New Mexico.
Nationwide, the number of moves in May and June was 9% lower compared with the same months in 2021. Moves were up in the spring of 2021 compared with 2020.