NEWSWIRE: 7/22/20
- According to a new survey, 3% of Americans say they have moved due to the pandemic, while 6% say someone else has moved into their household. Both of these figures are higher among young adults than older adults, with about 10% of 18- to 29-year-olds saying they’ve moved. (Pew Research Center)
- NH: We have all heard anecdotes about the pandemic leading to people moving in with their friends or family. But now Pew has actual data.
- Pew finds that between the end of March and the beginning of June, 3% of Americans moved because of Covid-19. Last year, approximately 1.6% of the population moved in the same time period; the pandemic has nearly doubled the rate of mobility. Before the virus, mobility in the US was trending downward and in recent years has been hitting record lows. This was due to a combination of Millennial risk aversion, immobile Boomers aging in place, and declining business dynamism. But the urgency of the pandemic has sharply reversed this longstanding trend. See "America's Steep and Troubling Decline in Geographic Mobility."
- Who moved the most? By age, 18- to 29-year-olds were the most likely to have moved (9%), while those 65+ were the least likely (1%). This isn't surprising since the young were hit the hardest with job losses, are most likely to rent, and are least likely to be tied to one location. Additionally, the survey included college students whose dormitories closed.
- Most people moved in with family members. Of those who had someone move into their own home, 47% reported it was an adult relative. Only 26% reported their new housemate was a non-related friend. In general, Covid-19 is accelerating our long-discussed theme of multiple adults living under one roof. In recent years this rise has been attributed to Millennials preferring to live with each other or with their parents. In the wake of Covid-19, Millennials are doing more of the same, for the same reasons: affordability and togetherness. (See "Household Formation: Why Is It Declining--and Where Is It Going? and "Why Americans Are Spending More On Home Improvement.")
