Moving is a typical part of life. Many people move for occupational reasons but there are other motivational factors for Americans to uproot their lives.  The search for lower taxes, cheaper housing, and similar communities also lead people to find new homes.  These shifts affect the economy and political organization.

That’s the argument in Shaping Our Nation, the latest book from political historian Michael Barone of the American Enterprise Institute and the Washington Examiner, who also-co-authors the biennial Almanac of American Politics.  Barone goes on to site various nightmare versus dream cities in Shaping Our Nation.  Nightmare cities include Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other towns that formerly supported their population through thriving factories.  Dream cities are those that tend to have lower taxes and lower housing costs, both of which support population growth and prosperity: Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Nashville, Atlanta and several “mini Atlantas” including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Jacksonville.

Barone also noted another trend where Americans move to areas where they feel they fit in.  Conservative, older generations tend to move towards church-based cities in Texas, instigating growth by 53% since 1990 which is twice the national rate.  “Texas has been a huge growth magnet over the last 20 years,” Barone says, “and not because it has pleasant weather.”  Meanwhile, liberals seem to gather in their own communities.  “You’ll see liberal professionals go to the San Francisco Bay Area,” Barone points out. “They wouldn’t leave for the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex if you tripled their salary.”

Looking as far back as colonial times to create moving patterns in Shaping Our Nation, Barone displays a “mass internal migration” from 1970 to 2010 of Americans who traveled from the industrial cities in the north to more welcoming southern cities.  The migration is attributed to shifts in job trends and for states like Florida and Texas, no state income tax.

States that used to be popular, such as California, have been losing people due to high taxes, regulatory overkill, and typical problems like congestion.  Most of those people have moved to states like Utah, Colorado, and Idaho where taxes are lower.  Places increasing their population are also growing their political power and representation in Washington. 

And like we’re seeing with The Woodlands and ExxonMobil, the economic momentum caused by the influx of homeowners can also motivate businesses to move to the city.  The cycle of people and commerce moving from nightmare cities to dream cities reallocates national power across the country.  In response, the high-tax, high-cost states then lower their taxes and create a business-friendly environment.  While this may work for some nightmare cities, developing lowered labor costs for companies as wage rates fall, many are still burdened with pension costs for former employees and other inescapable liabilities.

It comes as no surprise, then, that people follow the success-train and head out for those dream cities.

Article Citation: Newman, Rick. (November 11, 2013). Which cities Americans are moving to – and escaping from. Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved December 2, 2013 from: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/cities-americans-moving-escaping-154840318.html?l=1.
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