Unless you have been stuck on the International Space Station for the past six months (lucky guys!), you know that 2020 has been a VERY challenging year on many fronts. Migration patterns among the 50 states has been growing and with the advent of COVID-19, it has changed even more in 2020. Beyond the previous reasons to move, people are now looking beyond city-center living and are now moving to more secure and tax-friendly environments.
As a buying agent in Arizona, I am often asked where all the new buyers are coming from? Beyond my own experiences, there are also some pretty good resources out there to help answer this question as well. One of these is North American Moving Services 2019 US Migration Report which shows a 8 year history of the inbound and outbound moving migration of Americans by state – straight from the source that provides the trucks to make it all happen.
In addition to the inflow/outflow data for each state is also listed the average Property Tax Rates for each state as well. Arizona typically has a low property tax rate (0.77% in 2018) versus other popular destinations like Texas which has a higher property tax rate (1.86% in 2018). This may not seem like a big difference to some but trust me, people in Texas know the difference – despite having no state income tax! And if taxes are a major consideration in your relocation to Arizona, Kiplinger also provides a list of the 10 least tax friendly states in case you need more reasons to move here. And just so you know, Arizona is nowhere near being on this list.
The 2019 data obviously predates COVID-19 but based on what we are seeing in the market today, I would not be surprised when this list is updated next that Arizona will continue to be at or near the top once again. So, if you plan on using a moving service in 2020 and beyond, don’t be surprised if you get a much better moving truck rate to move out of Arizona to states like California and most northeastern states then back to Arizona. And if you do, you should see plenty of trucks heading the other way to help explain why.