There are many “
Top 10 Relocation States” articles out there, but a lot of them are flawed. They analyze cost of living which is great, but they usually fail to analyze jobs. They look at the school rankings, which is important, but fail to check out the housing prices. In my estimation the best cities are a combination of:
Safefy, Jobs, Housing Costs, and
Relocation Interest. So I have compiled a list of my Top 10 Best Relocation Cities.
Also note, I am writing this with 3+ years of relocation experience with a multi-million dollar company. I have seen all the cycles, and the ups and down of relocation. Its my job to know where people are relocating to, plus where people will be relocating to.
* #10 - Washington
You are probably thinking, “
Why would you choose Washington State as a top relocation city? Well its quite simple: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, and housing costs. When you have very strong cities such as Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Olympia,
Bellingham its hard to go wrong on listing Washington as a top relocation city. Seattle is continuing to be a great city for finding higher paying jobs. With suburb areas such as
Bellevue, Tacoma, and
Renton having an income average of nearly $50,000 you can see why people are moving here. Plus in Seattle the average home price is
$260,000 which is quite low fr the area.
* #9 - Virginia
Yes I can totally see how people will have thought I lost my mind. The state of Virginia being in a top list for Relocation Cities? Well there is a good reason, lower home medium prices, plus very good access to larger metropolitan cities. Places like
Richmond, Roanoke, Charlettesville, Fredericksburg, and
Virginia Beach make up most of the relocation for this state. Roanoke,
Charlottesville, and
Fredericksburg are all less than 100 miles from
Washington, D.C. The average home price for the state is only $242,000 and this is actually (as I write this) going down. Then you take the average home price in Virginia Beach which is less than $150,000 and you can really see what I am talking about… lower home prices. Plus the average household income for the state averaging nearly $55,000. Good housing costs, nice household incomes, and being so close to
North Carolina and Washington, D.C. makes Virignia the #9 best relocation city in the United States.
* #8 - Tennessee
This one was pretty easy to put in the top 10, it was just a matter of what spot.
Memphis,
Nashville, and
Knoxville make up most of the relocation for the state. But these huge cities alone could put Tennessee in this top 10 list. For starters the housing costs in Tennessee are nearly rock bottom. Take a place like Memphis: the average home price is less than $100,000 and has a household income of around $40,000. Suburb areas around Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville are really starting to take off. Plus people are flocking to places down in the southern part of Tennessee places like
Chattanooga,
Brentwood, and
Franklin. All in all, Tennessee is quickly becoming a very good relocation state. Who knows in a few years.. it could be in the top 5.
* #7 - Colorado
When you have
Denver as a major metropolitan hub, you can claim your spot in the top 10 without any problems. Denver has been boasting an increase of population of atleast 5% for the last 10 years, and no wonder its over the 500,000 resident mark already. But the biggest reason of increase population is from the suburb areas around Denver. Cities such as Littleton, Aurora, Lakewood, Thornton are becoming very hot (or should I say cold) relocation cities.
In the western part of
Colorado you have
Grand Junction, which is becoming a very large relocation city. So is the
Colorado Springs area, which is helped by cities such as Pueblo, and Castle Rock. Just in the last few years Colorado Springs has seen a very big increase in population. The city now boats a population of over 380,000 residents. With a state wide household income average of nearly $58,000, Colorado is a great relocation state.
* #6 - Georgia
In the last few years Georgia has been steadily increasing its population. It has since become one of the top relocation states in the United States. There are a lot of jobs in the state, and very good home prices. The top relocation cities in the state are:
Athens, Atlanta, Kennesaw, Savannah, and Alpharetta
* #5 - California
Your probably saying "
How can you put California so low on your list? Are you insane!?" Nope not insane... I just look at the numbers. California use to the the #1 most relocated to states in the United States, but
times they are a changing. Although California is still a very strong relocation state, it has been in decline the last two years. This is probably due to massive relocation between 2000 - 2006, and finally the amount of people leaving California has caught up to the amount of people relocating to California.
Regardless of the predicted California Real Estate Bust, the state still does drive in a lot of relocating families, and individuals. Due to moderate paying jobs and very high cost of living, California gets a generous #5 spot for the top relocation states. But do not forget about the weather!
The better relocation cities for California include:
San Diego,
Sacramento,
San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
* #4 - Texas
Now enter the territory of the top 4 best relocation states. Texas is definitely one of the top relocation states in the United States, and arguably one of the top few states. When you have big cities such as
Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and El Paso no wonder your a top relocation state. Texas continues to be in the top due to lots of jobs, and very low cost housing. The Dallas-Fort Worth area alone has increased its population by over 15% just in the last 5 years. Many suburban cities such as:
Plano,
Frisco,
Mansfield,
McKinney,
Garland,
Irving, and
Arlington has risen up to become very strong relocation cities.
Its easy to put Texas in the top 4 of relocation states... but who is in the top 3?
* #3 - Florida
The "Sunshine State" comes in at number three, and you should not be surprised. Florida has been one of the top relocation states in back into the mid-90's. Due to its great housing costs, and good amount of jobs it will continue to be a top relocation state. The only thing that will force Florida to drop a few points down is the increasing risk of hurricanes.
Some of the best relocation cities in Florida include:
Celebration,
Jacksonville,
Melbourne,
Miami, and
Tampa.
* #2 - North Carolina
The strength of the "Research Triangle Park area" alone would put North Carolina in the top two of the list. The Triangle Area is made up of the following larger cities
Raleigh,
Durham,
Cary, and
Chapel Hill. These four cities alone account for over 728,000 residents.
Other very strong cities in the state include
Charlotte,
Fayetteville,
Huntersville,
Concord, and many many others. In fact there are only a handful of cities that have decrease population in the state of North Carolina.
* #1 - Arizona
Arizona has always been in the top 5 for most relocated to states since the mid-90's. But until recently (2001-2006) the state has steadily been creeping up the list. Finally in 2007 the State of Arizona has become my #1 top relocation state in the United States. Due to a ton of jobs, great housing costs, and a ton of new developments.
Lets break down a list of great cities for Arizona:
Apache Junction,
Casa Grande,
Cave Creek,
Chandler,
Flagstaff,
Gilbert,
Glendale,
Prescott, and
Sierra Vista.
But you may ask, why are these suburban areas doing so well. Because of large cities such as:
Phoenix,
Tucson, and
Scottsdale.
Ok so that is my original list of the top 10 relocation states in the United States. You can leave it or love it. Regardless, this is the list!
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- Originally posted from the following URL, with updates/modifications
http://alexanderblog.com/new/2006/11...cation-cities/