Analysis: Decatur among top 'move-to' cities in the U.S.

In recent years, Decatur has been named the best place to live in Georgia in general (multiple times), the state’s top “suburb” (ouch), and the most bikeable city in the Peach State.

Now, the DeKalb County seat can add another flattering accolade to its crowded shelf: A Top 5 “move-to” city across the entire U.S.

That’s according to relocation tech company moveBuddha, which analyzed more than 50,000 web searches made by Americans planning a move this year to whittle down a report titled: “The Top City Everyone Wants to Move to in Every State in 2024.”

The study found Decatur (population roughly 25,000) was No. 1 in Georgia and part of a larger trend suggesting that would-be movers are keen on places with high qualities of life with strong communities near big cities—minus the snarling congestion of larger urban centers.

Decatur, in fact, is the smallest city on moveBuddha’s Top 25—where the average population is around 200,000—but it’s surrounded by one of the largest metros on the list. It shares the Top 10 with perennially hip destinations such as Asheville, Chattanooga, Burlington, and Boulder, respectively. (A common theme is that movers are seeking access to nature, and according to analysts, being located near greenspaces such as Stone Mountain Park is working in Decatur’s favor.)

Decatur notched the fifth-highest move-in ratio in the country of 2.39, according to search data between July last year and March, meaning that for every 239 folks aiming to move into the city, just 100 are looking to leave.

As expensive as Decatur may seem to metro Atlantans these days, the analysis found the city’s average home value (roughly $293,000) lands far below the average home cost across the U.S. right now ($375,000). Which serves as a reminder Decatur’s actual city limits stretch far beyond the downtown square.  

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