Retiree moving activity was down nearly 25% in 2024

Based on the data, 258,000 Americans moved in relation to retirement last year, with familiar mortgage market headwinds described as a likely cause of the stagnation.

“Rising mortgage rates and high home prices likely played a big role,” the report explained. “In 2024, mortgage rates climbed to 7% while the average home price reached over $500,000, making it harder for retirees to sell and afford new homes.

“For comparison, in 2018, mortgage rates averaged around 4.7%, and the average home price was approximately $382,000 — a much more affordable market for retirees.”

HireAHelper compiles this report each year based on the latest census data. It said it aims to track “shifts in migration patterns, uncover the top destinations and origins, and explore the evolving motivations behind retiree moves.”

Among the retirees who elected to move, nearly one-third (32.2%) relocated to a different state. This is nearly twice the rate at which the average American moves across state lines (16.2%).

But retirement-specific moves to different states also dropped on a year-over-year basis. In 2023, retiree movers went to a different state 41.9% of the time.

Among all new and existing retirees, 22.7% moved in 2024, down slightly from the previous year’s figure of 25.3%. But the general progress of recovery in moving activity from the days of the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing, according to the data.

“After dropping to 230,500 moves in 2021-2022, the average increased by 29.4% to 298,400 moves in 2023-2024,” the report stated.

As for where retirees are moving to, the states of Florida and Massachusetts have proven most popular.

“Among all retirees who moved to a new state, Florida remained the most popular, attracting 20% of this demographic,” the report explained. “No other state came close to matching its appeal. Minnesota sits at a very distant second, attracting 7.1% of all retirees who moved across state lines.”

But Massachusetts led the way among retirees who aimed to move specifically for the purposes of retirement, with 20.4% of all such moves going there.

In recent months, Florida has sounded the alarm over its popularity as a retirement destination, since an influx of older Americans is contributing to a “silver tsunami” that could strain local services.

But the U.S. population is also growing older, which will test certain systems and institutions by the middle of the next decade. It’s estimated that by 2034, Americans 65 and older will outnumber those 18 and younger for the first time.