10 Most Popular Cities for Out-of-Towners

Key Highlights

• Pandemic and remote working spur homebuyers to move to new digs and new places
• Redfin’s latest research indicated where its site users were looking to move in Q3

The trend of moving out-of-town was on the rise during Q3 2020, according to latest research by Redfin. One third of this tech disruptor’s users during Q3 were looking to move to new metro markets.

The now more-than-usual suspects for this rising interest in out-of-town moves are the COVID pandemic (more space and less density) and increasing remote working opportunities by cutting umbilical requirements to live near the office.

One thing that moving remote workers may want to consider prior to making that out-of-town move is “pay localization.” Employers are now “adjusting” salaries for remote workers based upon where they choose to work and live in addition to the job requirements of the work they do. In other words, employers are adjusting salaries, usually -25 to -35% downward, commensurate with the location in which that worker is now choosing to live.

The bottom line regarding pay localization is that workers may be doing the same level and quality of work BUT may be paid less for that same level and quality of work if/when working remotely in places with lower living and costs. Why? It costs more to live in San Francisco than in El Paso.

That being said, Redfin’s research on out-of-town searches came up with these most popular destinations:

1. Santa Barbara CA – net inflow in 2020 (number of people looking to move to the city minus those looking to leave) was +124% compared with 2019 – 71% of all home searches in Santa Barbara came from outside the metro area
2. Louisville KY – +113% increase in inflow in 2020 – 42.1% of searches came from outside the area
3. Buffalo NY – +107% net inflow in 2020 – 34.4% of searches came from outside the area
4. Burlington VT – +103% increase in inflow in 2020 – 59.2% of all searches came from outside area
5. El Paso TX – +101% in 2020 inflow – 49.9% of all searches came from outside area
6. Little Rock AK – +82% in 2020 inflow – 30.1% of all searches came from outside area
7. Tulsa OK – +80% increase in 2020 inflow – 35.3% of all searches came from outside area
8. Greenville SC – +79% in 2020 inflow – 45.8% of all searches came from outside area
9. Knoxville TN – +75% increase in 2020 inflow – 58.4% of all searches came from outside area
10. Syracuse NY – +74% increase in 2020 inflow – 46% of all searches came from outside areas

High-cost cities losing residents, according to Redfin during Q3 2020, posted New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles at the top of the list. Top destinations for those cities were…

• New Yorkers moving to Buffalo, Syracuse and Boston
• San Franciscans moving to Sacramento and Seattle
• Angelinos moving to San Barbara, El Paso, Little Rock, San Diego and Las Vegas

Thanks to Redfin and HousingWire.

URGENT: 2021 Results Released. New FREE On-Line Web Event Reveals 17 Surprising Secrets Of The Top 100 Millionaire Agents. Get Your FREE Spot For The On-Line Webinar Now. When You Attend This Event You Will Have A Sense Of Relief Knowing You Can FINALLY Laugh At Your Money Worries – If You Follow This Simple Plan. Learn How To Generate 100’s of Motivated Leads Without Coming Off As A Pushy Salesperson and Losing Your Soul. Learn Now How To Become One of the 1000s of Agents Making HUGE Money NOW Who Never Thought They Could.