Peter R Orszag, Columnist

Why Have Americans Stopped Moving?

When Americans move, it is to find a new job, less expensive housing or a warmer climate -- and not, as is often suggested, to find a state with lower or no income taxes

May 28, 2014 at 12:33 PM UTC

By Peter R Orszag

It's mostly futile for state policy makers to alter their income taxes in hopes of luring people from other states. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg — It's mostly futile for state policy makers to alter their income taxes in hopes of luring people from other states. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

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Americans are much less mobile than we think. Almost 70 percent of us who were born in the U.S. still live in the state of our birth, as only 1.5 percent of population moves across state borders, a rate lower even than that of our parents.

When we do move, it is most often in search of a new job, less expensive housing or a warmer climate -- and not, as is often suggested, to find a state with lower or no income taxes.