Current Events in October 2024

People moving from one state to another fell sharply in 2023, but most states still brought in more people than they lost.

Nearly 7.6 million people moved out of state in 2023 versus around 8.2 million in 2022, marking the lowest level within the last four recorded years, according to the latest state migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The decline in people moving between states follows a surge in state-to-state migration spurred by the pandemic, which caused layoffs and let more people get remote jobs that allowed them to move more freely.

Since then, working from home has become rarer after companies increasingly enforced return-to-the-office policies, making it more difficult to move between states and reap the financial benefits of living in more affordable locations.

Still, most U.S. states in 2023 had positive inflows of people from other states and there were a handful where migration switched from negative to positive, or vice versa.

ConsumerAffairs analyzed the Census’s state-to-state migration flows data to find which states have seen a positive or negative change in migration, found by subtracting the number of people who moved in from people who moved out in 2023.

Where did state-to-state migration turn positive or negative in 2023?

There were four states where migration turned positive, six that turned negative, 26 that stayed positive and 14 that stayed negative.

States where there was a switch between positive and negative migrations of people include Virginia, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico.

Mapping of the migration data also shows that more expensive states on the West Coast and Northeast continued to lose people in 2023, while more affordable states in the South kept gaining.

The states where state-to-state migration turned positive in 2023

The four states where state-to-state migration turned positive in 2023 versus 2022 were Colorado, Hawaii, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Below is a ranking of the four states where migration turned positive, based upon the difference between 2023 and 2022.

1. Virginia had positive migration of 22,921 people in 2023, versus a negative 15,080 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 38,001 people.
2. Colorado had positive migration of 21,293 people in 2023, versus a negative 9,324 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 30,617 people.
3. Wisconsin had positive migration of 14,853 people in 2023, versus a negative 895 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 15,748 people.
4. Hawaii had positive migration of 461 people in 2023, versus a negative 9,324 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 11,509 people.

The states where state-to-state migration turned negative in 2023

The six states where state-to-state migration turned negative in 2023 versus 2022 were Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire and New Mexico.

Below is a ranking of the four states where migration turned negative, based upon the difference between 2023 and 2022.

1. Kansas had negative migration of 15,575 people in 2023, versus a positive 9,650 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 25,225 people.
2. New Mexico had negative migration of 244 people in 2023, versus a positive 13,652 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 13,896 people.
3. Montana had negative migration of 47 people in 2023, versus a positive 9,682 people in 2022. That’s  a difference of 9,729 people.
4. New Hampshire had negative migration of 7,058 people in 2023, versus a positive 2.916 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 9,974 people.
5. Alaska had negative migration of 5,124 people in 2023, versus a positive 3,808 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 8,932 people.
6. Iowa had negative migration of 1,856 people in 2023, versus a positive 1,872 people in 2022. That’s a difference of 3,728 people.

The net migration trends by state in 2023

Overall, most states remained in either positive or negative territory for migration.

That trend was on display over the last three years among the three most populous states of California, Florida and Texas.

Florida continued to gain people over the last three years, although it brought in 123,056 fewer people in 2023 than in 2022.

California kept losing people, but the exodus slowed by 73,814 people in 2023.

Texas also continued to gain people, but like Florida and most other states staying in positive territory, it brought in 40,889 fewer people in 2023.

If you are in the market for a used car that you want to last for years, wouldn’t it be helpful to know what used cars your fellow consumers have owned for at least 15 years, liking them enough not to trade them in?

When an original owner keeps a vehicle for more than 15 years, it’s safe to assume they’re pretty happy with their ride. In a new study, automotive website iSeeCars identified the 13 cars that original owners keep for at least 15 years more than all other cars. 

The average time for a consumer to hold onto a new car is eight years. Keeping it for 15 years suggests there’s not an issue prompting the owner to want something new. Among the top 13 models, Toyota accounts for seven – three of which are hybrids.

“Most consumers can’t commit to a single vehicle for more than a decade, but those that do save a lot of money on their vehicle costs,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. 

“Keeping a car for 15 years means no loan payment for most of that time, along with falling insurance and registration costs. Those reduced expenses can counter higher maintenance costs as a car ages, especially in durable models that hold up well over time.”

The average percent of 15 year old cars kept by their owner was 3.7% among the vechicles.

Toyota models hold down the top five slots with 7% of Toyota Highlander Hybrids still with the original owners at least 15 years after being driven off the lot. 

“The functional, high-value nature of these models aligns with long-term ownership,” said Brauer. “If you’re keeping a car for 15 or more years you want reliability, practicality, and fuel efficiency, traits all of these cars offer.”

Despite falling mortgage rates during most of the month, sales of existing homes fell by a full percentage point in September, the worst showing in 14 years.

The National Association of Realtors reports three out of four major U.S. regions registered sales declines while the West experienced a sales bounce. Year-over-year, home sales were down 3.5%.

Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million in September. 

“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. 

Waiting out the election?

“There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy. Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”

The drop in home sales contributed to more inventory. The inventory of unsold existing homes rose by 1.5% from the prior month to 1.39 million at the end of September, or the equivalent of 4.3 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.

Even though there were significantly fewer buyers last month, the median home price rose, to $404,500, the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. That suggests most of the sales were of large, expensive homes. First-time buyers were responsible for only 26% of sales in September – matching the all-time low from August 2024 and November 2021.

All-cash sales totaled 30%, suggesting real estate investors remain active in the housing market.

A lot fewer bargains

“More inventory is certainly good news for home buyers as it gives consumers more properties to view before making a decision,” Yun said. “However, the inventory of distressed properties is minimal because the mortgage delinquency rate remains very low. Distressed property sales accounted for only 2% of all transactions in September.”

Distressed properties usually sell for a below-market price, giving first-time homebuyers and those on a budget more opportunities. While thousands of distressed properties were available after the 2008 housing market crash, they are more rare now.

There were fewer single-family home sales last month as that category fell by 0.6%. The median existing single-family home price was $409,000 in September, up 2.9% from September 2023.

Existing condominium and co-op sales dropped 5.1% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units. That’s down 14% from one year ago. The median existing condo price was $361,600 in September, up 2.2% from the previous year.

A new study finds that hard exercise makes people less hungry than easy exercise, especially for women.

Here's the simple breakdown

• Ghrelin: This is a hormone that makes you feel hungry.
• The study: Researchers had people do hard and easy exercises then measured their ghrelin levels.
• The results: Hard exercise lowered ghrelin more than easy exercise, meaning people felt less hungry after. This was especially true for women.

Why this matters

• Weight loss: If you're trying to lose weight, hard exercise might help you control your hunger better.
• Exercise as medicine: The researchers believe exercise should be treated like medicine, with different "doses" for different goals.

Basically, if you want to feel less hungry after exercise, push yourself harder!

About the study

The study examines the effects of exercise intensity on ghrelin levels and appetite between men and women. Ghrelin is known as the “hunger hormone” and is associated with perceptions of hunger.

“We found that high intensity exercise suppressed ghrelin levels more than moderate intensity exercise,” said lead author Kara Anderson, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Va. “In addition, we found that individuals felt ‘less hungry’ after high intensity exercise compared to moderate intensity exercise.”

The study examined eight males and six females. Participants fasted overnight and then completed exercises of varying intensity levels, determined by measurements of blood lactate, followed by self-reported measurements of appetite.

Females had higher levels of total ghrelin at baseline compared with males, the study noted. But only females demonstrated a signifcant reduction following the intense exercise, according to the findings.

“We found that moderate intensity either did not change ghrelin levels or led to a net increase,” the study noted. These findings suggest that exercise above the lactate threshold “may be necessary to elicit a suppression in ghrelin.”

Researchers also acknowledged that more work is needed to determine the extent to which the effects of exercise differ by sex.

Ghrelin has been shown to have wide-ranging biological effects in areas including energy balance, appetite, glucose homeostasis, immune function, sleep, and memory.

“Exercise should be thought of as a ‘drug,’ where the ‘dose’ should be customized based on an individual’s personal goals,” Anderson said. “Our research suggests that high-intensity exercise may be important for appetite suppression, which can be particularly useful as part of a weight loss program.”

The manuscript, “The Impact of Exercise Intensity and Sex on Endogenous Ghrelin Levels and Appetite in Healthy Humans,” was published online.