Last year was a big year for moving. More than 35 million people relocated in the United States in 2013. In fact, Americans move more frequently than the vast majority of the world. The only country with a more "nomadic" population than the U.S. is New Zealand.
Of those 35 million movers last year, over 17 million of them were considered long distance. The abundance of more affordable and flexible moving options made relocating across the country a much easier prospect. Services such as moving containers and full-service moving companies, both of which take the actual driving burden off the client, were popular choices.
But those options come with a price. The average cost for a professional household move came in at just over $12,000. Contributing factors to that final number included square footage of home, weight of belongings, distance of move, and client involvement (whether or not the customer packed, loaded, and unloaded their own boxes).
It's not surprising that customers were willing to pay extra in order to avoid the usual hassles of moving. Studies have shown that unpacking and packing are considered the most stressful parts of the entire moving process, which is an impressive claim, given the inherent stress of the entire process itself.
Some movers were able to save money by adjusting their timetables. The most popular relocation month in 2013 was August, with Friday being the most popular day of the week to load. Experts agree that, by avoiding these "peak" moving times whenever possible, customers can shave a little bit off the overall cost of the move. Only 18% of all the moves in 2013 took place during the winter.
The research also shows that moving is very much a young person's game. Americans ages 18-34 moved more than any other demographic in 2013. And we may be moving more: the average American moves 12 times in their entire life, up from 11 as little as a few years ago.