• Pew Research Center surveyed nearly 10,000 Americans about the coronavirus pandemic, and found that 3% of the population has already moved temporarily or permanently due to the outbreak.
  • Young adults aged 18 to 29 are the most mobile age group, with 9% of those surveyed – nearly one in 10 -reporting they had already moved. Separately, 22% of those who reported they did not move said they know someone who did.
  • The study also noted wealthier Americans are unsurprisingly the most likely to have moved due to the pandemic.
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The coronavirus pandemic has pushed as many as one-third of Americans to consider trading in their metropolitan lives for greener pastures.

According to newly released Pew Research Center data, 3% of Americans already have moved temporarily or permanently due to the coronavirus outbreak, and 14% of Americans know someone who did.

Pew surveyed 9,456 Americans in early June and found that young adults are typically the ones packing up. Of those surveyed, nearly one in 10 aged 18 to 29 reported moving due to the coronavirus outbreak. One-fifth of the young adults surveyed who said they hadn’t moved reported knowing someone who did.

Just 3% of respondents aged 30 to 45 moved, while 2% of respondents aged 45 to 64 moved, and only 1% of those over 65 moved, meaning young adults account for more movers than any other age group.

Roughly 41% of those who moved started bunking with their parents or in-laws.

According to the survey, the motivations behind the moves varied. Nearly one-third said the move was to reduce their personal risk of infection, while 23% said they moved because their college campus closed, and 20% said they wanted to be with family. The remaining 18% moved due to financial reasons, including job loss.

High education level and high income level are unsurprisingly linked to the likelihood that a person would move during the pandemic, Pew said, illustrating yet another way the pandemic differs for the wealthy. More adults with bachelor's degrees than those without said they had moved because of the coronavirus or know someone else who did, while roughly one-fifth of adults surveyed with annual household incomes over $150,000 said they or someone they know moved during the pandemic.