These 10 states lured the most movers last year— and No. 1 is unexpected

Maine saw the highest share of inbound movers in 2023, for reasons that could include access to nature and more living space.Andrew Siegel/Shutterstock

• Americans love to know where people are moving — partly to get inspiration for their own lives.
• Moving company Atlas Van Lines tracked the states with the biggest share of inbound movers in 2023.

Americans are fascinated by where people move in search of a better life.

Atlas Van Lines, a major moving company that facilitates about 80,000 relocations a year, tracks data on the number of moves into a state compared with the number of moves out.

It calculated the states with the biggest shares of inbound movers in 2023.

Take the numbers with a grain of salt: Atlas' ranking of the places people are leaving doesn't always align with Census-derived population data on which states are growing and which are shrinking. For example, South Carolina was the fastest-growing state from July 2022 to 2023, but doesn't appear on Atlas' list.

Atlas doesn't collect information on its customers' motivations for moving, so we've compiled some possible reasons people would choose each of the top 10 states. Reasons can range from a lower cost of living to better weather.

Read on for the top 10 relocation hotspots of 2023, from Texas to Maine.