There was no urban exodus due to Covid

A year of USPS data gives the clearest picture yet of how people moved during the first year of the pandemic.

• There is no urban exodus

• People making permanent moves between March 2020 and February 2021 was only 3%

• San Francisco and San Jose saw the greatest increase in rates of permanent moves — not surprising given that 1) cost of living in the Bay Area has been high, 2) a large portion of jobs are tech/startup, and 3) tech/startup roles saw a large shift to remote-optional

• Despite talk of mass moves to Florida and Texas, data shows most people who did move stayed close to where they came from

• More Manhattanites moved to Brooklyn than moved to the entire state of Florida