It's one of the complaints we hear the most - "all these dang out-of-staters need to stop moving to Missoula!" Not only do we hear it, but here at the radio stations we see it as well. Any story that we post to our social media pages will open the floodgates to the replies about out-of-towners moving here and messing up the normal way of life. I actually just saw a post on Twitter today where somebody said they have a new favorite game - driving around Missoula and trying to see if they can spot a Montana license plate. I have to admit, that one made me chuckle when I read it.

Well, here's some statistics when it comes to where people moved to over the last year - and if your not big on the idea of everybody moving to Missoula.....you're not going to love this. A website called moveBudda did a little number crunching as they put together their list of the 101 Most Popular Mid-Sized Cities for Movers in 2020. How high on the list is Missoula, you ask? Well, of the 101 cities on the list.....there's 99 below us. Yep, that makes us #2. The only city that had more people move their way was Sarasota, FL.

Photo: moveBuddha
Photo: moveBuddha
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Why is everybody packing their bags and wanting to set up shop in Missoula? The moveBudda article had a stat that says "at the peak of COVID-19 mayhem, an April 2020 Harris Poll survey reported that as many as 39% of urban-dwelling Americans were contemplating moving to less densely populated areas." Well, that sounds about right - people are wanting to get out of the crowded cities with all the people and traffic and head somewhere you can breathe a bit.

The conductors of the survey remind us that the numbers "can’t claim to be a comprehensive survey of American migration patterns," but there's no doubt Missoula and Montana as a whole have become a destination for those looking to find a new place to put down some roots.

 

This is one of those lists where we wouldn't feel too bad about dropping 99 spots or so before the next set of numbers is released. See the stats as well as what the article has to say about what's drawing people to Missoula HERE.

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