The United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey comes out every year, and every year it tells a different story – except when it comes to the percent of Americans moving out of state. Interstate relocations are an evergreen market, and professional moving companies making it easier to maintain those numbers.
We took a look at the data, and sat down with an industry insider who’s making big changes to make those out-of-state moves even easier.
A Data-Driven Market
While the number of overall relocations fluctuates every year (2023 was 12.1%, down from 12.6% of Americans in 2022), the percent of Americans choosing to change states has hovered at around 2.3% of the population over the past 19 years. It means a lot for real estate in certain regions, especially since according to the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2023 estimates, more and more people are moving to the South.
Aside from the real estate market, American mobility makes a major impact in the moving industry. Americans can’t move unless there are moving companies to keep them on the road, but moving companies can’t keep up with increased demand unless they’re adapting to meet the steady waves of Americans choosing to move from point A to point B. Unfortunately, the majority of the moving industry isn’t currently capable of handling mass migration – even if it’s steady, rather than spiking.
An Old Obstacle
When it comes to relocating, the move itself is a bottleneck. While it’s a difficult decision to commit to a move, the actual execution is enough to turn many people away from it altogether. This is due to a several factors, as explained by our inside resource at iMoving.com.
Firstly, the moving market is oversaturated, and in a given city there may be dozens of moving companies vying for clicks. These companies may have spotty reputations, or they may even be downright scams – but like the legitimate moving companies, they’re taking advantage of an evergreen market. (This is part of the reason moving experts recommend getting at least three quotes from three different companies, to rule out any scams and to understand the industry-average price.)
Of course, customers also need to choose what method they’ll use for their relocation. Will they rent a truck and DIY? Will they book a moving container? Will they hire a full service moving company? There are dozens of options for movers, methods, and more.
Then there’s the matter of collecting quotes. Customers need to enter their information over and over again to collect and compare estimates, and there’s no guarantee that those quotes are binding when they finally arrive. The quotes don’t come out of thin air, either. In order for a moving company to provide an accurate estimate, the company may require an in-home inspection. This involves an agent paying a visit to a potential customer’s home, all so they can document the items that need relocating and math out how much it’ll all cost.
If moving itself is an obstacle, potential customers won’t want to commit to relocations. But the moving industry has taken notice, and professional movers are taking steps to finally streamline the process.
A New Approach
Meyr Aviv and his team created iMoving over a decade ago. Their mission? To make it easier for customers to book moves and relocate. And as their website proudly claims, this means no phone calls, and no house calls.
What started off as a small project managed by a few moving industry veterans has since turned into an online marketplace with over 1000 vetted movers. And most recently, the iMoving platform has seen new changes that allow customers to book moves in just a few clicks.
While based in Florida, the company’s network has gone nationwide, and as CEO Meyr Aviv explains, it’s all in the approach.
“When you shop for movers you usually have to enter your information over and over again, for every company,” said Aviv. “Then after all that, they hit you with hidden fees. People don’t want that when they’re moving. It’s a big life change, you don’t want to start it off badly.”
If moving itself is an obstacle, iMoving is taking steps to minimize it. Thanks to their recently-developed widget, it’s possible for their customers to shop for movers, compare prices, and book a relocation without entering and re-entering their information. It also includes options for different moving methods, such as full service movers or moving containers.
As for scams and bad actors, according to Aviv, the iMoving network of movers is hand-selected by their own research department.
“Vetting is important to us,” explained Aviv. “Everyone has a bad story about a moving company… ‘they broke something, they showed up late, they were rude.’ We don’t want that to happen to our users. We’re very careful with who we add to the platform.”
As a moving company that has recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and added their 1000th mover, the iMoving marketplace is riding a long wave of Americans making moves. But if moving companies make it easier to relocate, what happens to other industries across the United States?
A Logical Reaction
Companies like iMoving are making it easier for Americans to move. And if it’s easier for Americans to move, it can lead to faster turnover in trending cities. It’s no secret that the housing market is difficult to break into, and mortgage rates are still unfeasible for many. Americans, now stuck in a near-perpetual rent cycle, may find that easy moving and relocating between short-term rentals is a silver lining to an otherwise bleak housing market.
But in the meantime, out of state relocations are staying in style. And as long as Americans are interested in moving to a different state, there’ll be movers to get them there. The main difference is now, there’s more options to make moving easier, and more options to make moving safer.
“We’ve helped people move, and we won’t stop,” added Aviv. “But we’re going to launch some new tools that’ll really change things in the industry.”
