Urban to suburban migration was a common theme during the pandemic, as remote-friendly opportunities opened up a new market for workers to stretch their legs.
Now, people are going even farther outside of the suburbs, particularly to rural states like Idaho and Montana, a new report says.
Smaller states mostly in the South and Midwest are experiencing higher net migration rates per 1,000 residents, according to a report by StorageCafe analyzing data from its sister division Yardi Matrix, as well as US Census data.
All 10 states on the list have populations under 8 million, according to Census estimates for 2022.
This recent crop of movers are motivated by factors outside of home prices and proximity to work — like lifestyle, Doug Ressler, the business intelligence manager at Yardi Matrix, told Insider.
"Montana, Idaho, and Vermont, you can see that in terms of lifestyle really lends itself — it's picturesque," he said. "And you don't have the larger cores and you don't have commute times."
The Sunbelt has dominated in attracting new residents, but those looking for wide-open spaces are also eyeing more northern states like Montana, Vermont, and Idaho — all places with populations below 2 million.
"People don't want to just exist in a place where they live, like an apartment or a home," Ressler said. "They really want more lifestyle advantages, leisure types of things like trails and hiking. That is really driving a lot of what we see in a lot of these less dense areas around the states."
Here are the 10 states that are leading the rankings in net migration, according to StorageCafe.