Analysis of 30,000+ relocation applicants finds middle-income households maintaining monthly costs while gaining ownership access in smaller markets
New national data suggests that even financially stable, middle-income households are increasingly unable to access homeownership in major metropolitan markets — not because they cannot afford monthly payments, but because ownership itself has become out of reach where they live.
An analysis of more than 30,000 relocation applicants and 739 confirmed movers through the online relocation marketplace MakeMyMove, combined with U.S. Census American Community Survey data and research conducted in partnership with Data317, finds that many households earning $100,000–$150,000 annually are relocating from large metros to smaller cities and micropolitan communities where housing supply and prices better align with incomes.
Notably, many movers maintain similar monthly housing costs after relocating, yet gain access to ownership, larger homes and less competitive markets. Most keep the same jobs and employment classifications post-move, suggesting relocation is enabling stability rather than forcing career tradeoffs.
The data indicates that this shift is driven less by lifestyle preference and more by structural housing constraints in metro markets, including limited inventory and price-to-income ratios that have outpaced earnings. Rather than moving to rural isolation, households are relocating to smaller regional hubs where ownership access remains viable and housing stock includes a broader distribution of attainable monthly mortgage options.
The findings also identify specific ZIP codes where ownership pressure is highest and where access is reopening, offering a geographic lens on how the housing affordability crisis is reshaping mobility patterns.
“Where you live increasingly determines whether you can own,” the report concludes, positioning geographic mobility as an emerging pathway to housing access for middle-income households.
The full report, Beyond the Metro: A New Housing Map for America, is available at:
[https://www.makemymove.com/articles/beyond-the-metro-a-new-housing-map-for-america].
About MakeMyMove
MakeMyMove is the country’s first and only online marketplace where remote workers can explore the communities that are incentivizing their relocations. Since launching in December 2020, more than 2,000 remote workers and their families have found and relocated to new communities across the country.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226970632/en/
Analysis of 30,000+ relocation applicants finds middle-income households maintaining monthly costs while gaining ownership access in smaller markets
