The job-chasing American worker is becoming a relic of the past. Here’s what’s keeping people rooted in place.
There was a time when moving for work was practically a rite of passage, a bold step toward better pay, new opportunities, and upward mobility. But that era is fading fast. Americans today are far less likely to pack up and relocate for a job than they were just a generation ago, and the reasons go well beyond simple preference.
Domestic migration rates have hit record lows in recent years, with far fewer people making interstate moves than in the 1980s or 1990s. The decline has been steady for decades, reshaping the American labor market in profound ways. What’s driving this shift? It’s not one thing, it’s a perfect storm of economic pressure, structural barriers, and cultural change that’s making relocation feel more like a gamble than an opportunity.
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The Mortgage Trap
Perhaps nothing illustrates the problem better than the housing market. High home prices and elevated mortgage rates have turned moving into an expensive proposition, especially for existing homeowners. Many people refinanced during the pandemic at historically low rates, often below 3%. Selling now means giving up that deal and taking on a new mortgage at 6% or 7%, dramatically increasing monthly payments even if the new home costs the same.
This “mortgage lock-in effect” keeps people tethered to their current location even when better job opportunities exist elsewhere. According to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, this phenomenon has become a significant drag on labor mobility, trapping workers in place regardless of what the job market is offering.
Remote Work Changed the Game
The pandemic didn’t just temporarily shift where people worked—it fundamentally altered the relationship between jobs and location. Hybrid and remote work arrangements mean that switching employers no longer requires switching cities or states. Why move to Austin or Denver when you can take a job there and work from your current home?
This has weakened the historical pattern of chasing work across state lines. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond notes that remote work has reduced the need to relocate, effectively decoupling job changes from geographic moves in ways that would have been unthinkable two decades ago.
The Math Doesn’t Add Up
Even when a job offer exists in another city, the financial calculation often doesn’t work out. Rising rents, persistent inflation, and general labor market uncertainty have made people deeply risk-averse. The cost of relocating, including moving trucks, deposits, and potentially being far from family support networks, combined with affordability risks in expensive job-rich cities, frequently outweighs the expected earnings gains.
It’s not irrational hesitation; it’s cold calculation. When a $10,000 raise comes with $15,000 in higher annual rent, the move stops making sense.
We’re Getting Older (and Staying Put)
Demographics matter too. An aging population simply moves less than a younger one. Older workers have deeper roots, kids in school, aging parents nearby, established social networks, and paid-off mortgages. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond points out that declining mobility isn’t just about costs or job availability; it also reflects population aging and the stronger community ties that naturally reduce relocation as people get older.
The System Is Broken
Individual decisions happen within structural constraints, and those constraints are getting tighter. Zoning laws restrict housing supply in many high-opportunity metros. Affordable inventory in job-rich areas is scarce or nonexistent. Economic stagnation in some regions means there’s nowhere appealing to move from, while astronomical costs in thriving cities mean there’s nowhere affordable to move to.
Mobility isn’t just about personal preference; it’s constrained by broader systems that make relocation harder, even for people who want to move. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond research emphasizes these structural and policy barriers as critical factors limiting labor force mobility.
A Cultural Shift Toward Stability
There’s also something deeper happening. Economists and social researchers suggest that Americans are simply less willing to uproot unless absolutely necessary. The pandemic reinforced priorities around family, community, and stability. The “go anywhere for work” mentality that characterized previous generations has softened considerably.
As noted by researchers tracking these trends, lifestyle priorities have shifted in ways that make geographic stability more valuable than it once was. The willingness to sacrifice proximity to family and established communities for a job has declined markedly.
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What It All Means
Americans aren’t moving for work as much because the costs, both economic and personal, have risen while the benefits have shrunk. Remote work has reduced the need to relocate. Stagnant wages in many regions mean the payoff for moving isn’t what it used to be. And systemic barriers like housing costs and mortgage lock-in make relocation genuinely harder, not just less appealing.
The result is a labor force that’s more rooted, more cautious, and more constrained than it was when job-related moves were common. No single factor explains the shift entirely, but together they paint a clear picture: the mobile American worker, once a defining feature of our economy, is becoming the exception rather than the rule.
For policymakers, employers, and workers themselves, this represents a fundamental change in how labor markets function one that demands new thinking about everything from housing policy to remote work arrangements to regional economic development.
