Americans have always moved around. Going back to the original settlers who first landed on the eastern coast of the country, everyone was looking for adventure and opportunity. Not much has changed; hundreds of years later, we’re all still looking for the golden ring.
According to relocation company MoveBuddha’s 2025 Moving Trends Report, Americans are still on the move, only now they’re looking for affordability, space and a better work-life balance. MoveBuddha analyzed over 55,000 searches on its website to determine where people are planning to move this year to date.
The most popular domestic destination for relocation in the first six months of 2025 is Conway, South Carolina, with four times as many people seeking to move in compared to those wanting to move out. In fact, since 2023, South Carolina has dominated interstate move searches. Conway surpassed its neighbor, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina which topped the list in the first quarter of the year.
South Carolina ranks number one for the move-in compared to move-out numbers, with 206 move-ins compared to 100 move-outs. New Jersey, California and New York have received the highest number of outbound inquiries, indicating that these states are more likely to lose residents in the future.
Moving trends are pointed toward affordability and quality of life, favoring states known for low home prices, less tax burden and Sunbelt climates. Certainly, Florida scores high points for all of these items in addition to a thriving job market and a business-friendly environment and lack of personal income tax.
In 2025, Florida’s population is estimated to be around 23.8 million with a growth rate of 2% annually over the past five years, making it the fastest growing state in the country. Florida is still growing; however, the growth rate may slow down in the coming years primarily because of housing affordability. Because of this, the growth areas could shift, and the infrastructure needs will likely expand.
So how does Manatee County measure up in the ever-changing Florida landscape? In 2024, Manatee County saw a significant influx of new residents, particularly from other parts of Florida and the Northeast, including the New York metropolitan area. This growth has led to increased development and pressure on the county’s infrastructure and resources.
Development has expanded from the coastal areas eastward into the more rural parts of the county – Lakewood Ranch, Parrish, as well as Palmetto and Ellenton. All areas of the county including coastal communities are experiencing rapid growth with new housing communities sprouting out of the ground where farms and ranches previously existed.
Manatee County is actively reviewing and amending its Land Development Code (LDC) and Comprehensive Plan to manage growth and development, particularly concerning future development. I’m skeptical how much real change these reviews will achieve since privately-owned land is sacrosanct and will be difficult for the county to control the usage of as long as it is within zoning regulations.
So, there will be some serious fights ahead with developers and government. But in a popular county with a population of 385,571 at last count, 244 sunny days on average and an average temperature of 73 degrees, 150 miles of coastline and of course zero snowfall, it will be hard to keep people away.
Few of us stay living in the same house, on the same street, in the same community and the same state for all of our lives. This movement keeps the economy healthy and the populations creative; it’s in our DNA and not likely to change.
