The South became an increasingly popular place for people in the U.S. to move in 2021, according to a look at recent relocation patterns.

A study by the Penske Corporation found that the most popular moving destination in the U.S. last year was Houston. In fact, three Texas cities fell within the top 10 relocation destinations in the U.S. for 2021.

Houston was followed by Las Vegas, Phoenix, Charlotte, Denver, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Austin, and Chicago, a city which was not listed since 2015. Charlotte was also not in the top 10 rankings from 2018 until 2021. Las Vegas ranked first in 2020, while Houston jumped five places to rank at the top in 2021.

Two destinations that made the list in 2020 but not in 2021 were Tampa and Atlanta. Three cities -- Phoenix, Houston, and Orlando -- all remained in the top 10 for the past 12 years, as long as Penske has compiled the list.

During 2020 and the first half of 2021, Penske noticed a notable trend of people fleeing city centers for more rural areas of the U.S. In 2020, people moved to places like Idaho and Montana as well, though neither state had cities ranked in Penske's top 10 for that year.

However, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of people who changed residences fell in 2021 to 8.4% compared to 9.3% in 2020, which is the lowest rate in a trending decline since the Bureau started collecting data.

The report noted that few people cross state lines to change residences. The 2021 data represents 27.1 million people who moved, and around 43% stayed in the same city, 35% in the same state, and only 20% moved states.

Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Washington, New York, and South Carolina were the top 10 states people moved to in 2021 . Meanwhile, people moved away from California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida, Washington, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Oregon. A lot of the states people moved away from also had a lot of people move in.

One of the top reasons people moved in 2021 was the cost of living being lower where they moved to (45%) and lower taxes (37%). Many people also wanted a better culture (43%) or better politics (39%) in their new life. Some also reported moving because of climate change (38%) and better weather (32%).

Suburban homes are shown near a proposed housing development in Santee, California, U.S., March 18, 2022. Picture taken March 18, 2022. Picrure taken March 18, 2022.
Suburban homes are shown near a proposed housing development in Santee, California, U.S., March 18, 2022. Picture taken March 18, 2022. Picrure taken March 18, 2022. Reuters / MIKE BLAKE
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