Americans Are Moving For Affordability: 4 Southeast States They're Going To
The next time many Americans decide to relocate, they’ll prioritize affordability above everything else.
A 2025 Migration Patterns Study conducted by Atlas Van Lines analyzed its customers’ relocations on an interstate basis from Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025. Four Southeastern states stood out of the top 10 ranking U.S. states and districts where there was the greatest influx of inbound moves. Arkansas and North Carolina each appeared in the top five with Arkansas at first place and North Carolina in third. Tennessee and Alabama rounded up the latter half of the ranking, in sixth and eighth place, respectively.
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What is it about the Southeast, and these four states especially, that compels movers to consider relocation? We spoke to Andrew Brown, founder of Immediate Movers and Storage, about the study.
Brown, who has more than 10 years of experience in moving operations throughout the Midwest and Southeast, shared with MoneyLion which key factors are pulling Americans towards these four states.
Affordable Housing
Americans will find these four Southeastern states to be much more hospitable than major coastal cities when it comes to affordable housing costs.
According to Zillow, the average home value in Arkansas is $222,300. This is $145,000 less when compared to the average U.S. home value ($368,198 per Zillow) and more than a half-million less considering high cost of living states like California, where the home value average is $776,233.
Brown cited a ConsumerAffairs’ 2025 cost of living report for the state of Alabama where sizeable gaps exist between the state and national costs for rent and home prices. The report said the median rent in Alabama is $1,052 per month compared to the national median of $1,639. For home prices, the median home price is $303,400 versus the national median of $446,638.
“This gap changes the game for a family moving from Illinois or any other high-cost Midwest state,” he said.
Lower Tax Burdens
Most Southeastern states are known for being tax friendly with families and retirees alike. Key findings from a 2026 SmartAsset study analyzing each U.S. state’s retirement tax friendliness revealed Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee do not tax Social Security income. This friendliness is extended in Tennessee, which does not have state income tax on wages.
What about North Carolina? SmartAsset pegged this state as “moderately tax friendly” with smaller deductions in retirement income and varying ranges of friendliness toward sales and property taxes.
North Carolina did receive a mention in TurboTax’s ranking of states with the lowest income tax rates on the highest earners. The state ranked 11th place with a 4.25% flat rate for the 2025 tax year.
Career Opportunities
Outside of affordable housing, a lower cost of living and tax breaks, many Americans relocate for work and job opportunities. North Carolina may not be as tax favorable as Alabama, Arkansas or Tennessee, but it is the most poised to attract workers across industries like healthcare and tech in addition to remote employees.
“Charlotte attracts finance and tech workers who were priced out of coastal cities and the Research Triangle attracts healthcare and biotech workers seeking a lower cost base without compromising career opportunities,” Brown said.
“Beyond those metro areas, remote workers are opting for Asheville and Wilmington because the quality of life there at current price points makes staying in a high-cost city genuinely hard to justify.”
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This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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