There was no mass exodus from California. Or New York. Or generally speaking, anywhere in the country as far as 2020 is concerned. A new report from Placer.ai put their new Migration Analysis tool to the test, tracking a comparison of state-level migration data between January 2020 and January 2021—as in the year of COVID.
Per Placer.ai’s new whitepaper, as shared by The Real Deal, the results show that the population change that most states experienced during this period did not exceed 1 percent. Yes, there was a push toward the suburbs in some areas of the country during the pandemic, which the report highlights as a significant negative migration pattern in states centered around high-density urban areas.
For example, California experienced a negative migration rate of -1.1 percent. New York saw -1.8 percent.
Placer.ai does point out that major cities saw a statistically more significant impact in terms of migration. While southern cities including Phoenix, Austin and Charleston drew in many Americans during 2020, major northern and city-oriented regions, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Boston experienced a negative migration pattern.
The white paper features even more great analysis, including where those who did leave cities like San Francisco and New York moved to, and what, if any, implications these numbers could have on offices and retail spaces in the future. For more, click here.