With the cost of living in San Diego perpetually on the rise, it’s no surprise many residents are searching for homes in other areas of the country. But, San Diego is also a city many people across the country want to move to.
Zillow economist Jeff Tucker recently conducted a study, which collected data on the number of page views on “for sale” and “for rent” listings on zillow.com. He found most people searching for homes in San Diego are currently in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco and New York. Two of the most popular ZIP codes they are searching in are 92037 in La Jolla, and 92118, in Coronado, which includes North Island Naval Air Station.
Tucker says while many New Yorkers want to live in San Diego, San Diegans are not returning the favor.
“New York City was the most common out-of-state origin for page views of San Diego listings. But in the other direction the most common out-of-state destinations for San Diegans are Phoenix, Dallas and Portland, Oregon,” Tucker said.
He said it suggested a lot of residents of San Diego are looking for more affordable places to buy a home and raise a family.
The data, he said, is important because it helps give researchers a sense of migration patterns — sometimes well ahead of census data. It also gives an understanding of how communities are connected as people move between them.