Who moved to Arkansas in 2025? Roughly two-thirds of the people who changed states and chose Arkansas as their destination, according to Atlas Van Lines’ annual Migration Patterns Study — and a single city, Bentonville, swallowed more than a third of that inbound flow.
Atlas tracked moves between November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025. The headline: Arkansas led the nation with 68% of its tracked moves coming from other states (32% outbound), putting it at the top of a 10-place list that otherwise reads like a mix of Sun Belt affordability and lifestyle draws.
The top destinations, in one quick sweep
Atlas’s top 10 inbound states (including Washington, D.C.) for 2025 were:
- Arkansas — 68% inbound
- Idaho — 64% inbound
- North Carolina — 60% inbound
- Hawaii — 60% inbound
- Washington, D.C. — 59% inbound
- Tennessee — 57% inbound
- Washington — 57% inbound
- Alabama — 57% inbound
- North Dakota — 56% inbound
- New Hampshire — 55% inbound
The broader picture matters: interstate moves remain a modest slice of American life. The U.S. Census reported that only about 2.1% of Americans changed their address across state lines in 2024 — roughly 7 million people — yet where those movers land can reshape local housing markets and labor pools.
Why Bentonville — and Arkansas — surged
People don’t move for a single reason, but employers have an outsized pull. Atlas and local officials point to Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt as steady job magnets. Bentonville alone accounted for 38% of all Atlas-tracked inbound moves to Arkansas — more than any other single city in the top inbound states. Walmart’s new home office, which opened early in 2025, offered a concrete focal point for relocation decisions.
Local realtors and municipal leaders echoed what the data shows. Bentonville’s mayor described a city reinventing itself as a hub for corporate talent, outdoor amenities and development; a local Realtor noted a mix of corporate-driven, retirement and lifestyle moves (biking and trails came up more than once).
Where people came from matters, too. Arkansas officials reported significant inbound license transfers from Texas, Missouri, California, Florida and Oklahoma — several thousand from each — suggesting the state’s growth is drawing from a wide geography.
Not just Arkansas: patterns and pressures
The list includes a few predictable names — Idaho and North Carolina have been magnet states for years — and a few reminders that quality of life can beat sky-high coastal prices. Hawaii’s strong inbound share speaks to a different kind of pull; Washington, D.C. remains a unique job-and-services center.
At the same time, Atlas’ study found the Midwest had gained steam in some migration conversations, even if it didn’t crack this particular top-10 inbound list. The Sun Belt’s cost and climate advantages remain big factors for many households.
What does this mean on the ground? Inbound surges typically increase demand for housing, add pressure to local services and shift political and economic dynamics. Local officials in growing towns must juggle zoning, transportation and workforce housing — all while courting the tax base and jobs that brought newcomers in the first place.
How modern movers pick a place
The mechanics of moving have changed. People scout neighborhoods remotely, compare commutes, and weigh digital infrastructure as much as bike lanes or school ratings. Tools that make virtual touring and navigation smarter — like the new conversational features in mapping apps — help prospective residents understand daily life before they arrive. See how some navigation tools are getting more helpful with conversational search [/news/google-maps-gemini-ai-copilot].
Connectivity also matters for rural or semi-rural moves. Improvements to emergency and satellite-enabled texting reduce one hurdle for families choosing places off the beaten path, making states with more open land feel less remote than they used to[/news/t-mobile-free-text-911-satellite].
A shifting map, not a mass migration
Atlas’ president noted that while Americans are still moving, the composition and drivers of interstate moves are changing. Corporate relocations, remote-work choices, affordability, and amenity-seeking all play parts — but nationwide mobility remains far below the frenzy some headlines suggest.
For towns like Bentonville, the challenge is tangible: accommodate growth without losing what made the place attractive in the first place. For newcomers, the appeal is often pragmatic — jobs, lower housing costs, lifestyle — and occasionally surprising: a trail system that turns out to be the deciding factor for someone trading a coast-to-coast commute for a curbside life near a corporate campus.
If nothing else, 2025’s migration map is a reminder that economic anchors still move people — and that a single company or city can alter a state’s demographic trajectory in a single year.