Charlotte ranked the ‘stickiest’ city in the US. Here’s what to know

A new study from moveBuddha ranked the Charlotte metro area as the “stickiest” major metro in the country, meaning residents are more likely to stay close to home even when planning a move. Nearly one in four move searches in Charlotte stayed within the metro — a rate 76% higher than the national average.

FULL STORY: New study ranked Charlotte the ‘stickiest’ city in the US. What does that mean?

Here are key takeaways:

• Charlotte led a group of Southern metros dominating the rankings, including Greenville, S.C.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Louisville, Ky. and Tulsa, Okla., which all posted “stickiness” rates near or above 20%.

• Raleigh was the only other North Carolina city on the list, ranking No. 15 with a stickiness rate of 16.5%.

• Most out-of-state moves to Charlotte originated from nearby states South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, according to a midyear analysis by U-Haul. The top intrastate origin metros were Raleigh, Greensboro, Wilmington, Asheville and Fayetteville.

• Eight of the top 10 states seeing an influx of newcomers are in the South, plus Nevada and Arizona, according to Retirement Living.

• Researchers examined data from moveBuddha’s Moving Cost Calculator, looking at searches made between March 1, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2026. Metros needed at least 100 searches for both local and outbound moves to qualify.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists. To learn more about how The Charlotte Observer is using AI in our newsroom, see our policy here.

This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 12:06 PM.

Evan Moore

The Charlotte Observer

Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.