The Easiest U.S. Cities to Make a Move

The U.S. housing market continues to thrive, meaning more people are moving onto greener pastures. While settling into your new digs is exciting, preparing for the big move can be an even bigger challenge. From cleaning to packing to hauling it all to your new place, some cities make the process easier than others. The team at HomeAdvisor stepped up to the task of finding out which cities make it easier to move in. Learn more about what we found below.

Key Findings

• Phoenix, AZ, leads the nation as the most move-friendly city in the U.S., because they have a high number of rentals and homes for sale alongside many cleaning services, professional movers, and donation centers.
• New York City, NY, received a perfect score for convenience, thanks to having the most professional movers, donation centers, junk removal companies, and cleaning services.
• McAllen, TX, ranks as one of the worst cities to make a move to, with an overall score of 32 out of 100. On top of having a limited number of homes available for sale or rent, the city is prone to extreme weather conditions and natural disasters.

Mapping Out the Best U.S. Cities To Make a Move

According to the data, Phoenix is the most move-friendly city in the U.S. The Valley of the Sun has everything you need to make a seamless move, including cost-effective U-Hauls and a high number of cleaning services, professional movers, and donation centers. Phoenix also has many rentals and homes for sale compared to other cities across the country.

While moving to the city may seem like a hassle, relocating to the Big Apple could be less of a headache than you think. New York City received a perfect score for convenience, meaning it has the most professional movers, donation centers, junk removal, and cleaning services of any major U.S. city. It’s no surprise given it’s the most populated city in the nation, but it’s surely convenient for those relocating from here to there. If you’re looking to do away with last-minute DIY projects like deep cleaning and yard sales to get rid of excess belongings, the Empire State might be calling your name.

Las Vegas, NV, came in third place on our list of easiest cities to move to because of its high number of places to rent and buy: it will be that much easier to find a place! Sin City also scored high marks for its pleasant, move-friendly weather year-round–Las Vegas tied with Springfield, MA, for lowest precipitation on average compared to the rest of the cities on our list. Buyers looking for a city with great weather and plenty to do can bet on Vegas.

Migrating to McAllen, TX, might be a challenge for people interested in living in the Lone Star State. McAllen ranks as the worst city to make a move to, with an overall score of 32 out of 100. On top of having a limited number of homes available for sale or rent, the city is prone to frequent storms and other extreme weather conditions. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas is susceptible to many natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tornadoes—all of which would certainly make for less-than-ideal moving conditions.

The Best U.S. Cities to Make a Move, by Category

Next, we took a look at the easiest U.S. cities to move to by category, including convenience, cost, weather, and available real estate.

When it comes to convenience, New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta are the easiest cities to move to. Buyers looking to make their moving experience as luxurious as their new homes should look into houses in these three locations. These cities have no shortage of resources like professional movers, junk removal, and cleaning services, making them a perfect choice for those of us who prefer to leave it to the professionals.

Homebuyers who want to cut down on costs should consider making it over to Milwaukee, WI. For saving money, Milwaukee came in first place with a cost score of 30 out of 30. Homebuyers looking into houses with three or more bedrooms will be pleased to find that Milwaukee is the most affordable option, as it costs less than $50 to haul your belongings 50 miles in a small U-Haul truck. This should come as no surprise given that the dollar goes further in America’s dairyland—the cost of living in Wisconsin is around 18% lower than the national average, according to Movoto.

Seekers of sunshine and temperate climates should consider relocating to Springfield, MA. Springfield scored a 14.3 out of 15 for weather, the highest out of all the U.S. cities we reviewed. This western Massachusetts city tied with Las Vegas for the lowest average precipitation across the country and had a relatively low number of natural disasters compared to other cities.

One of the many challenges of relocating to another city or state is finding real estate that’s just right. Depending on where you’re planning to go, you might have limited options in the housing market. Chicago, IL, ranked first for most homes for rent and sale. Experts at The Mortgage Reports suggest looking at 10 to 15 houses in the area you’re most interested in to get an idea of what’s available at your price point, and the Windy City makes it easier for homebuyers to do so.

Closing Thoughts

Settling into a new home and experiencing a different city can be an exciting time for anyone. Moving, on the other hand, is another story. From packing to cleaning and hauling all your belongings, some cities make moving an easier task than others. We hope you were able to use our study to learn which cities do the best job at easing your relocation woes.

If you’re looking for an extra set of hands or two, HomeAdvisor offers connections to professional moving companies to make those best cities even easier when it comes time to move to your new home.

Methodology

We looked at the 100 U.S. cities by metropolitan statistical area and ranked each city’s moving experience based on convenience, cost, weather, and available real estate. We analyzed 11 different factors and assigned each data point a value from 0 to 5—higher numbers representing the most favorable conditions. We determined each city’s score from the total of its factor scores, which were weighted according to their impact on the moving experience. Individual factor scores were added together to give each city a final score from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicated cities that are easier to move to.

When it came to weather, we looked at each city’s average precipitation in inches and total number of natural disasters annually. For available real estate, we looked at the total number of homes for sale and for rent in each city. To calculate convenience, we looked at the number of professional movers per capita, junk removers per capita, donation centers, and cleaning services. For U-Haul expenses, we calculated the cost of traveling 50 miles for the following sizes of vehicles:

• Apartment – 1 bedroom / Studio / Deliveries (9′ Cargo Van)
• 1 Bedroom Home to 2 Bedroom Apt. (15′ Truck)
• 3 Bedroom Home to 4 Bedroom Home (26′ Truck)

A complete list of factors & their weights can be found below.

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