Retirement Life November 13, 2026

Where Retirees Are Moving: What Census Data Shows

Sheila Armand

The picture most of us have of retirement is a moving truck headed for Florida. The Census Bureau's data tells a quieter story. Most older Americans do not move at all in a given year, most of those who do stay in the same county, and the long-distance moves that get the attention are a small share of the total. This article looks at what the Census Bureau has published about where people 65 and older move, and what that might mean if you are thinking about a move yourself.

Most older adults stay put

The main source here is a Census Bureau report, Domestic Migration of Older Americans: 2015-2019, published in September 2022 and based on five years of American Community Survey data. It remains the bureau's most detailed look at the subject.

The headline finding, from the bureau's press release: a little over 3 million adults 65 and older moved in a typical year, or about 6.2 percent of that age group. Put the other way, roughly 94 of every 100 older adults were living in the same home a year later.

When they do move, it is usually close to home

Type of move	Share of movers 65 and older
Stayed in the same county	About 58%
Moved to a different state	19.7% (about 620,000 people a year)
Other moves, including to a different county in the same state	The remainder

The Census Bureau's accompanying article explains why local moves dominate. Many are about the home itself: downsizing, or finding housing that fits changing needs, such as a one-story house.

Age matters too. People 85 and older were slightly more likely to move than those 65 to 84, and they were the most likely to stay in the same county when they did, at 64 percent.

The states that gain and lose the most

Interstate moves are the minority, but they follow a clear pattern. These are annual net figures for people 65 and older, meaning arrivals minus departures.

State	Net change per year, age 65+
Florida	+53,150
Arizona	+21,440
California	-19,200
New York	-23,420

Florida gains the most people. But measured against the size of its older population, Arizona comes out ahead, and Idaho makes the top three.

State	Net gain per 1,000 residents age 65+
Arizona	18.2
Florida	12.9
Idaho	11.3

The Census Bureau also traced where those movers came from. Florida's older arrivals came mostly from New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Arizona, Idaho and Nevada drew mainly from California, Washington and Oregon. In other words, people tend to move along familiar corridors, often to places where friends and neighbors have gone before.

The regional picture

Region	Net change per year, age 65+
South	About +72,900
West	About +8,800
Midwest	About -34,900
Northeast	About -46,800

The South is the only region with a large gain. The West gains slightly overall, because losses from California offset gains in Arizona, Idaho and Nevada.

The tool below puts the figures from the tables above in one place, so you can switch views and sort them.

Explore the numbers

Switch between total moves, moves relative to population, and regions. Use the sort button to reorder the list.

Annual figures for people 65 and older, 2015 to 2019. Shows the states and regions named in the Census Bureau's summary of its report, not all 50 states. Regional figures are rounded. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Domestic Migration of Older Americans: 2015-2019.

Smaller places draw retirees too

An earlier Census Bureau analysis, Where Do We Go When We Retire?, looked at counties rather than states, using population estimates from 2010 to 2014. Sumter County, Florida, home to a very large retirement community, had the fastest growth in its older population from people moving in. But the list also included Broomfield, Colorado; Rockwall, Texas; Jasper County, South Carolina; and Kendall County, Texas. Those figures are older, but the point holds: retirement destinations are not limited to the famous ones.

Some people move back home

A 2025 Census Bureau article on movers returning to their state of birth found that the share of all movers who returned to the state where they were born rose from 4.2 percent in 2019 to 5.0 percent in 2022, and was 4.9 percent in 2023. Among movers 65 and older, the share was 4.1 percent in 2019 and 4.9 percent in 2021. It is a small group, but a real one: for some retirees, the move is back toward family and old friends.

What the data suggests if you are considering a move

The numbers cannot tell you where to live. They can help you ask better questions.

Staying is the norm. If you are not sure you want to move, you are in the majority. There is no need to treat relocation as an expected step in retirement.
A local move may solve the real problem. More than half of older movers stay in the same county. If the issue is stairs, yard work or a house that is too large, a move across town keeps your doctors, friends and routines in place. Our guide to downsizing versus right-sizing covers that decision.
Popular destinations are popular for a reason, and priced accordingly. Steady arrivals support housing demand in states like Florida and Arizona. Compare housing, insurance and everyday costs before assuming a move will save money.
Try before you commit. Rent for a month or a season first, ideally in the least pleasant time of year. A long stay tells you more than a vacation. See our guide to slow travel in retirement for how to set one up.
Think about the second move. The data shows people 85 and older move slightly more often, usually locally. A place that works at 68 should also have housing and services that work later.
Count the people, not only the weather. Rebuilding a social circle takes effort. Our article on how friendships change in retirement has practical suggestions.

A simple test before you decide

Write down answers to these five questions for your current home and for the place you are considering.

Who would I see in a normal week?
How far is the nearest hospital, and are my doctors in the area?
What would I do on a Tuesday in the worst month of the year?
Could I manage this home, and get around this town, if I stopped driving?
What would housing cost me per month, all in?

If the new place wins on most of them, the move has a solid basis. If it wins only on weather, a seasonal stay may give you most of the benefit.

Frequently asked questions

How recent is this data?

The main report covers 2015 to 2019 and was published in 2022. It is the Census Bureau's most detailed study of older movers. The return-migration article uses data through 2023.

Do most retirees move to Florida?

No. Florida gains more older residents than any other state, but only about one in five older movers crosses a state line at all, and only about 6 percent of older adults move in a given year.