PA remains ‘balanced’ in moves, according to study
Relocations were up about 10 percent across the country in 2010 according to an Atlas Van Lines Migration Patterns study.
Credit: Atlas 2010 Migration Map
“We hope that’s a sign that there’s some recovery,” said Kerri Hart, senior marketing specialist for Atlas Van Lines located in Evansville, IN. The company tracked a small decrease in relocations in 2008 and 2009.
Pennsylvania remained a “balanced” state last year and has maintained this pattern over the last 10 years, according to Hart. Balanced is defined as having nearly equal outbound and inbound moves. The Commonwealth saw 2,192 inbound moves and 2,494 outbound moves in 2010, according to Atlas’ data. That was up from 2009, when Pennsylvania saw 1,937 inbound moves and 2,210 outbound moves. “There are slightly more outbound but the numbers are so similar we consider Pennsylvania a balanced state,” Hart explained.
Most of the states across the country have remained consistent and a majority are balanced in their moves, Hart said. However, there are some exceptions. Three of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states, Ohio, New York and New Jersey are all considered outbound states. Ohio has been an outbound state since 2003 and saw nearly double the number of outbound moves in 2010 with 1819 inbound and 2682 outbound. New York is considered an outbound state as well with 2688 inbound and 3481 outbound. New Jersey has 1,621 inbound moves and 2,215 outbound moves. Maryland is considered an inbound state with 2,628 inbound moves and 1,761 outbound moves.
As people relocate for business, Hart said there’s a growing trend for companies to give employees a specific amount of financial assistance for a move and the employee determines how to handle the move. In the past, many companies used to handle the entire move and cover all the costs.
Kim Shindle is the Managing Editor at the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS®.
