Pew Research’s 2008 national survey of 2,260 adults found that movers and
stayers reported virtually identical community satisfaction: about 60% of
each group rated their communities as good to excellent, implying roughly
40% of stayers did not. Discounted conservatively — since
dissatisfaction with one’s community is not the same as regretting the
decision to stay — the inaction-side proxy sits near 30%. All Star
Home’s August 2023 survey of 1,000 Americans found that 1 in 5
homeowners who moved within the prior three years regret the decision,
with the top reasons being unexpected costs, missing their old neighborhood,
and missing their old home. A third said they would consider moving back to
their former city or state. LendingTree’s 2023 survey of young
adults corroborates constrained staying: 42% of hometown stayers felt
obligated to remain near family and 33% said they could not afford to
leave, though neither obligation nor financial constraint is regret.
The 10-percentage-point gap between the action-side 20% and the
inaction-side 30% tilts this entry toward inaction-dominates territory,
consistent with Gilovich and Medvec’s temporal framework: staying put is
the passive default, and the unlived life in the distant city grows more
painful over time. Yet the gap is modest, and the data is imperfect on
both sides. All Star Home’s companion hometown report found that nearly
half of those who left their hometown miss it and 21% plan to move back,
suggesting the 20% regret rate understates the emotional cost of leaving.
HireAHelper’s 2021 pandemic-era survey found a higher 30% regret rate
among movers, though that figure likely reflects the unusual circumstances
of 2020 moves and a broader definition of regret that includes process
complaints like logistics and timing.
The core measurement problem remains: no single survey asks both
populations the same regret question about the specific hometown decision.
The action-side 20% measures explicit regret among all movers (not just
hometown leavers), while the inaction-side 30% is inferred from Pew’s
community-satisfaction data rather than a direct regret question.
Self-selection confounds everything: people who leave small towns tend to
be more educated and higher-earning, meaning their post-move satisfaction
reflects both the move and the traits that made them move. Rural-to-urban
and suburb-to-suburb moves are fundamentally different decisions lumped
under the same “leaving hometown” label.
Sources: action
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]All Star Home — Americans' Moving Habits and Regrets Data Survey 2023
Reference source
Among homeowners who have moved in the last 3 years, 1 in 5 regret it
Excerpt
“"Among homeowners who have moved in the last 3 years, 1 in 5 regret it. Overall, 1 in 5 Americans say the hassle of moving wasn't worth it and 1 in 3 would consider moving back to their former city or state."
”
Source data from
2023-08-01
Accessed
2026-04-27
Calculation
All Star Home surveyed 1,000 Americans in August 2023 about moving habits and regrets. The 20% (1 in 5) figure captures homeowners who moved in the prior 3 years and report regretting the move. Top reasons for regret include unexpected costs, missing their old neighborhood or city, and missing their old home. This is a broader mover population, not exclusively hometown leavers, but the survey's companion report on hometown living found that nearly half of those who left their hometown miss it, suggesting the 20% regret rate is conservative for hometown-specific departures.
[2]HireAHelper — 2021 Study: Do People Actually Regret Moving?
Reference source
About a third (30%) of those who moved in the past year have at least a few regrets about their move
Excerpt
“"About a third (30%) of those who moved in the past year have at least a few regrets about their move. Millennials are the least pleased with their move, as 37% of them regret at least something about it — more than any other generation."
”
Source data from
2021-01-25
Accessed
2026-04-27
Calculation
HireAHelper surveyed 1,000 Americans who moved in 2020, fielded January 2021. The 30% figure captures respondents who reported "at least a few regrets" about their move. This higher rate compared to All Star Home's 20% likely reflects the broader definition of regret (including minor process complaints like logistics and timing) and the pandemic-era context when many moves were rushed. We use All Star Home's 20% as the primary rate because its 3-year lookback better captures settled regret rather than immediate post-move frustration.
Sources: inaction
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]Pew Research Center — Who Moves? Who Stays Put? Where's Home?
Primary study
37% of Americans have never left their hometown; ~60% of stayers rate their communities as good to excellent, implying ~40% do not
Excerpt
“"Nearly four-in-ten adults (37%) have never left the community in which they were born. Stayers overwhelmingly say they remain because of family ties (74%) and because their hometowns are good places to raise children (59%)."
”
Source data from
2008-12-17
Accessed
2026-04-27
Calculation
Pew Research Center survey of 2,260 US adults conducted Oct 3–19, 2008. Approximately 40% of stayers do not rate their communities as good-to-excellent. We use ~30% as a conservative inaction-side proxy because community dissatisfaction does not equate to decision-level regret — some dissatisfied stayers may still prefer staying for family or financial reasons. The 30% estimate is anchored in the Pew equal-satisfaction finding: since movers and stayers report identical satisfaction (~60%), the implied dissatisfaction rate among stayers (~40%) discounted for those who are dissatisfied but do not attribute it to staying yields a figure comparable to the action-side 30%.
[2]LendingTree — 57% of Young Americans Live in Their Hometowns, but 47% Who Don't Would Consider Moving Back
Reference source
42% of young hometown stayers felt obligated to stay near family; 33% couldn't afford to move
Excerpt
“"Among those who didn't leave home, 42% felt obligated to stay near family, 36% stayed out of convenience and 33% couldn't afford to move."
”
Source data from
2023-12-18
Accessed
2026-04-27
Calculation
LendingTree commissioned QuestionPro to survey 1,984 US millennials and Gen Zers (ages 18–42) from Nov 16–20, 2023; of these, 1,129 lived in their hometowns. The 42% who felt "obligated" and 33% who "couldn't afford to move" suggest a substantial fraction of stayers whose staying was constrained rather than freely chosen. This corroborates the Pew dissatisfaction proxy but is not itself a regret measure — obligation and financial constraint are not equivalent to retrospective regret about the decision to stay.
Caveats
Neither side has a direct, comparable regret measure for the specific "leaving hometown" decision, so both rates are proxies. The action-side 20% (All Star Home 2023) measures explicit moving regret among homeowners who moved within 3 years — including local, inter-city, and cross-state moves — not specifically those who left a hometown for a distant city. HireAHelper's 2021 survey of pandemic-era movers found a higher 30% regret rate, likely reflecting its broader definition of regret and the unusual circumstances of 2020 moves. The inaction-side ~30% is inferred from Pew's 2008 finding that ~40% of stayers do not rate their communities positively, discounted conservatively because community dissatisfaction is not the same as decision regret. LendingTree's 2023 finding that 42% of young stayers felt obligated to stay near family and 33% couldn't afford to move corroborates that a meaningful share of staying is constrained rather than chosen, but financial constraint is not retrospective regret. Self-selection is severe: people who leave hometowns differ systematically from those who stay in education, income, risk tolerance, and personality, making causal inference about the decision itself nearly impossible. Socioeconomic confounds dominate — leaving a depressed rural town for a booming metro is a different decision than leaving a thriving suburb for a coastal city.
