Moving for a Job in 2026: States Adding the Most Jobs

If you are ready for a challenge beyond just a new role, you might be considering a change in your company or the city where you reside. For those of you toying with the idea of moving for a job this year, don’t be afraid. Take incremental steps toward your next adventure and see how far you can stretch your capabilities.

We know what it’s like to step out of your comfort zone in order to build a new level of skill or an opportunity. Over the past few years, we have organized moves for dozens of families coming from four different states toward new careers and futures. Along the way, we have noticed clear patterns regarding the influx of destinations people are moving to.

Texas added 159,400 payroll jobs from August 2025 to August 2026, the largest statistically significant gain in the latest state employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the latest complete 24-month period in our booking records, 1,517 booked interstate moves were headed to Texas, making it our second-largest interstate destination after Florida. The median estimated total for those Texas-bound moves was $3,503.

California added 138,500 jobs over the same BLS period and received 1,277 of our booked interstate moves. North Carolina added 65,600 jobs and received 860 moves on our end. For households relocating into these states, the moving side of the decision starts with a concrete question: how much household inventory has to travel, from where, on what dates, and with which services included.

States Adding the Most Jobs in 2026

Eight states recorded statistically significant payroll employment gains from August 2025 through August 2026. Texas and California led by number of jobs added, followed by North Carolina.

Employment figures use seasonally adjusted BLS payroll data for August 2025 through August 2026. Our moving figures use booked interstate records with move dates from June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2026.

Our States Ranked by Job Market Growth covers the broader state employment rankings.

What Does It Cost to Move to These States?

The state medians become more specific once the origin city and shipment size enter the estimate. Los Angeles-to-Texas bookings in our records had a median estimated total of $3,050 and a median shipment volume of 341 cubic feet. Miami-to-Texas bookings reached a $2,746 median with 400 cubic feet of household goods.

The San Diego-to-North Carolina records carried the largest median shipment in the table at 627 cubic feet. The median estimate was $6,442. Seattle-to-North Carolina bookings carried a 372-cubic-foot median shipment and a $3,235 median estimate.

Distance, cubic footage, packing, storage, stairs, elevators, parking access, specialty items and move dates can all change an interstate estimate. A larger inventory can move the price sharply even when the destination state stays the same.

More first-party price and shipment data is available in our Moving Cost Statistics.

Texas Was Our Second-Largest Interstate Destination

Texas accounted for 1,517 of the 17,282 booked interstate moves in our two-year analysis, about 8.8% of the total. Houston received 154 bookings, Austin 125, San Antonio 98, Dallas 87 and Fort Worth 43.

California was the largest origin state for Texas-bound bookings, with 333 moves. Florida followed with 129, Washington with 78, New York with 64 and Georgia with 59. The median estimated total across all Texas-bound interstate bookings was $3,503, with a median shipment volume of 421 cubic feet.

Texas also added 391,243 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, bringing its estimated population to 31.7 million. North Carolina added 145,907 residents during the same Census period. Both states appear near the top of our interstate destination records and among the largest job gainers in the latest BLS release.

California-to-Texas moves form the largest state-origin group in our Texas data. Our California-to-Texas moving guide covers that route in more detail.

What Goes Into a Job Relocation Moving Estimate?

An interstate moving estimate starts with the household inventory. Beds, sofas, dressers, tables, appliances, boxes and other items determine the shipment volume or weight used to price the move. Packing services add another cost when the carrier or packing crew supplies boxes, wraps items and prepares household goods for transportation.

Pickup and delivery conditions matter as well. Stairs, elevators, long carries, limited truck access and building move-in windows can affect the work required at either address. Storage can enter the move when the current home has to be vacated before the new home is ready.

A fixed job start date makes the delivery side especially important. The household may need temporary housing, a smaller set of belongings kept separately, or storage when the employee has to arrive before the main shipment.

How Employer Relocation Benefits Affect the Move

Employers commonly structure relocation assistance as a lump sum or reimbursement of eligible expenses. SHRM’s 2025 Employee Benefits Survey found relocation lump-sum payments at 27% of responding organizations, reimbursement of shipping fees at 11%, location-visit assistance at 11% and temporary relocation benefits at 8%.

The payment method affects how the move is booked. A lump sum can be available before pickup. A reimbursement arrangement may require the employee to pay the moving bill first and submit receipts afterward. Employer policies can also require written estimates, invoices, proof of payment or specific expense categories.

Ask HR for those requirements before booking the move. The moving estimate, carrier documents and final payment records are easier to collect when the reimbursement rules are known from the beginning.

How Are Employer-Paid Moving Expenses Taxed in 2026?

For most private-sector employees, employer-paid moving reimbursements count as taxable income in 2026. IRS Publication 15-B says federal law permanently eliminated the general exclusion for qualified moving-expense reimbursements.

Qualifying active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces retain an exclusion for moves connected with a military permanent change of station. Qualifying intelligence-community employees and new appointees also retain an exclusion for moves required by a change in assignment.

Payroll treatment can affect the amount available for the move, especially when an employer provides a fixed relocation allowance. HR can confirm the taxable amount, payment date and any gross-up included with the benefit.

Plan Pickup and Delivery Around the Job Start Date

Job relocations often have a narrow arrival window. The employee may need to leave the current home, travel to the destination and begin work within a few days, while the household shipment follows its own pickup and delivery schedule.

Start arranging the move once the destination, approximate inventory and target dates are known. Summer moves, larger households and fixed pickup windows give the schedule fewer places to absorb a change.

Our guide to booking movers in advance covers planning windows in more detail.

Verify the Broker and Carrier Before an Interstate Move

FMCSA requires interstate household-goods brokers and movers to register with the agency. Its Protect Your Move resources provide registration and complaint information for consumers arranging interstate transportation.

We are a household-goods broker. We arrange interstate transportation with an authorized motor carrier, and the assigned carrier transports the shipment. FMCSA requires interstate brokers to use registered interstate movers and to provide consumers with required federal moving information.

Keep the written estimate, broker documents, carrier information and payment records together with any paperwork the employer requires for relocation reimbursement.

Our Moving Data

For the moving figures in this article, we filtered our anonymized booking records to interstate moves with move dates from June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2026. The resulting 17,282 records were grouped by destination state and selected origin-to-destination routes. Median estimated totals and median shipment volumes come from those filtered records.

The employment figures come from the BLS August 2026 State Employment and Unemployment release. Population figures come from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 state population estimates. Each dataset is reported on its own terms throughout the article.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — State Employment and Unemployment, August 2026.
• U.S. Census Bureau — Vintage 2025 National and State Population Estimates.
• Society for Human Resource Management — 2025 Employee Benefits Survey.
• Internal Revenue Service — Publication 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, 2026.
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — Protect Your Move.
• Our anonymized booked moving-estimate dataset — June 2024 through May 2026 interstate subset used in this article.

Update Log

October 2, 2026: Updated with August 2026 BLS employment data, Vintage 2025 Census population estimates and our interstate booking records through May 31, 2026.