On the move: South Dakota ranks No. 2 for in-migration

Jodi Schwan

January 4, 2022

South Dakota’s big migration isn’t slowing down.

The state ranked No. 2 in the annual United Van Lines study showing where Americans moved to and from in 2021, up from third the year before.

South Dakota registered a 69 percent in-migration — meaning that for every 100 people moving in or out of the state, 69 moved in while 31 moved out.

Here’s a look at who moved in and out of the state by age and income.

The theme of the year showed Americans moving to lower-density areas and to be closer to families in 2021, United Van Lines said.

“This new data from United Van Lines is indicative of COVID-19’s impact on domestic migration patterns, with 2021 bringing an acceleration of moves to smaller, midsized towns and cities,” Michael Stoll, an economist and professor in the department of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. “We’re seeing this not only occur because of Americans’ desire to leave high-density areas due to risk of infection, but also due to the transformation of how we’re able to work, with more flexibility to work remote.”

At 74 percent, Vermont topped the list for inbound migration, while New Jersey led the way for people moving out at 71 percent.

In addition to the state-by-state data, each year United Van Lines conducts an accompanying survey to examine the motivations and influences for Americans’ interstate moves.

Here are the reasons people moved:

  • To be closer to family: 31.8 percent, a trend that is growing.
  • For a new job or job transfer: 32.5 percent, which is significantly lower than the 60 percent who said this in 2015.

In South Dakota, the largest number of people moving in cited family, and those moving out did so mostly for jobs.

Early retirement?

The study also found Gen Xers are starting to retire, which is at a younger age than past generations. They’re heading to smaller cities in Florida such as Sarasota and Fort Myers-Cape Coral and in Oregon such as Medford-Ashland and Eugene-Springfield.

Moving in

The top inbound states of 2021 were:

  1. Vermont
  2. South Dakota
  3. South Carolina
  4. West Virginia
  5. Florida
  6. Alabama
  7. Tennessee
  8. Oregon
  9. Idaho
  10. Rhode Island

Of the top 10 inbound states, six — Vermont, South Dakota, West Virginia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho — are among the 20 least densely populated states in America, with less than 100 people per square mile. Tennessee and South Carolina are among the top 25.

Moving out

The top outbound states for 2021 were:

  1. New Jersey
  2. Illinois
  3. New York
  4. Connecticut
  5. California
  6. Michigan
  7. Massachusetts
  8. Louisiana
  9. Ohio
  10. Nebraska

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