The surprising southern state where the most Americans moved to in 2024

Millions of Americans moved to another state last year, but one surprising southern state was the most popular.

Arkansas was the largest state attracting newcomers in 2024, according to a study by moving company Atlas Van Lines.

“We have one of the lowest costs of living in America,” state-based real estate agent Heather Keenen said. told Realtor.com.

“Couple that with tax cuts and low crime rates, and we continue to see an influx every day.”

Bentonville, in Northwest Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, is seeing a particular influx, Keenan points out.

“People are flocking to places with a strong job market and affordability, but also with extra space to move, great food and a welcoming culture,” she said. “We certainly have all that going for us here in Northwest Arkansas.”

The state that saw the second largest influx of newcomers, according to the study, was Rhode Island.

This was followed by North Carolina, Washington, DC, Idaho, Tennessee, Maine, Connecticut, Washington and Alaska.

Three of the ten largest states, Tennessee, Washington and Alaska, have no state income tax.

“I think the state of the economy has had a big impact on these decisions to move to states without income taxes,” Holden Andrews, founder of real estate investment firm Helpful Home Group, told Realtor.com.

“With prices rising for everything from groceries to gasoline, many people are looking for places where their wages will continue to rise,” Andrews explains.

“The lower cost of living combined with the availability of jobs or the flexibility to work remotely makes them particularly attractive in these states.”

However, only 10 percent of those who left the state in the past three years did so for affordability reasons, according to Atlas Van Lines.

In addition to having a lower cost of living than many other states, Arkansas is also known for its landscape of mountains, lakes, rivers, hot springs and forests.

The rugged Ozarks region in the northwest of the so-called ‘Natural State’ features hiking trails and limestone caves.

The study measured Atlas customers’ interstate, interprovincial and international moves between November 2023 and October 2024.

“We have one of the lowest costs of living in America,” said Arkansas real estate agent Heather Keenen. (Photo: Eureka Springs)

Arkansas is also famous for its landscape of mountains, lakes, rivers, hot springs and forests (photo: The Hawksbill Crag in Arkansas)

Bentonville, in Northwest Arkansas (pictured), where Walmart is headquartered, is seeing a particular influx of newcomers

According to the survey, 32 percent of Americans moved for a new job, 25 percent did so to be closer to friends or family and 33 percent cited other factors.

Connecticut, which was also named among the top 10 hottest places for Americans to move, also saw three of its cities make Realtor.com’s recent Hottest Markets list.

Connecticut cities such as Hartford have very low average home prices compared to other places in the US.

One of the median home prices that’s hard to beat is the $178,696 for a home in Hartford.

The popular Connecticut city also had one of the lowest mortgage rates among major real estate markets: 6.5 percent.

Tennessee was also one of the most popular states to move to, and Knoxville was recently rated as one of the hottest housing markets in the country.

The median home value in Knoxville is $350,614, which is nearly $100,000 lower than the average in Nashville, Tennessee.

Homebuyers looking for their forever home in the area can choose from more than 1,500 homes currently on the market.

Buyers may also have a good shot at purchasing a home, as 58.3 percent of sales in Knoxville were below list price.