Older Americans are on the Move

Americans are moving again—but it's middle-age and older people, not 20-somethings, who are increasingly striking out for greener pastures.

More than 7 million Americans moved between states in 2012, the highest number of long-distance moves in four years, according to new data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, its most comprehensive snapshot of U.S. demographic trends. The figure is above a low point of 6.7 million in 2010 but well below the pre-recession pace of nearly 8 million. 

Driving the recent increase, in large part, are middle-aged and older Americans. The share of Americans ages 35 to 44 moving between states has risen for two straight years, though they're still less likely to move than younger people, according to an analysis of Census data by Brookings Institution demographer William Frey. Interstate moving rates for people 65 and older also rose last year. By contrast, rates for younger Americans 18 to 34, while higher than for older Americans, fell.

Tara Farrell and her 5-year-old son, Schuyler, survey
their new digs in San Francisco, where they will move 
in this weekend.

[...]

Tara Farrell and Nate Eastman are among those who have moved. Last month, they arrived in San Francisco from Vermont, after Mr. Eastman, 42 years old, got a job as a salesman at CrowdFlower Inc., which helps companies outsource tasks to workers via the Internet. Ms. Farrell, 37, works from home as a business manager for her family's three furniture stores in Vermont and New York. 

With Mr. Eastman settling in at his new job, Ms. Farrell recently rented out their condominium in Vermont, drove a moving truck to San Francisco with their 5-year-old son and found the San Francisco apartment they will move into this weekend.

"We decided to take a gamble," Ms. Farrell said. 

They're not alone. More Americans appear to be leaving the Northeast for the West and South again—a trend interrupted by the 2007-09 downturn. The share of Americans living in the West and South who lived in the Northeast a year earlier has risen since 2010, while the share of people living in the Northeast who moved from the West and South has dropped slightly, Census data show...

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