Wilmington and Cary both made MoveBuddha’s 2026 top 25 for U.S. cities drawing moving-related searches. Wilmington ranked No. 17 and Cary No. 23. The results offer a snapshot of where people were looking to move in the first half of the year—not a count of completed relocations.
MoveBuddha based the rankings on 97,706 searches made on its website in the first six months of 2026, according to the News & Observer. The company’s measure tracks moving-related search interest, rather than relying solely on census or survey data.
What the Search Ratios Measure
The first-half search ratios do not directly measure moves into Wilmington or Cary. The U.S. Census Bureau describes American Community Survey migration flows as period estimates comparing where people lived when surveyed with where they lived one year earlier—a different measure from searches on a moving website.
The Census Bureau’s listed county-to-county ACS migration-flow series runs through the 2016-2020 five-year dataset, so it is not a contemporaneous, city-level comparison with MoveBuddha’s first-half 2026 search figures, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Wilmington had an inbound-to-outbound moving-search ratio of 2.25 to 1: more than twice as many searches were aimed at moving into the coastal city as at leaving it. MoveBuddha spokesperson Kristen Klepac previously told the News & Observer that job growth in health care, education and other industries contributes to the city’s appeal.
Cary’s Search Interest in Context
Cary, west of Raleigh, recorded a moving-interest ratio of 2.08 to 1. The Triangle suburb has been recognized for job opportunities, outdoor activities and lower costs relative to residents’ incomes, according to the reporting behind the rankings.
The search ranking is one of several recent measures in which Cary has placed highly. The town says it ranked No. 5 nationally and No. 1 in North Carolina on U.S. News’ 2025-2026 Best Places to Live list. A 2026 Niche ranking also named Cary the best place to live in North Carolina, with Morrisville and Apex scoring well, according to ABC11.
North Carolina’s State-Level Showing
North Carolina ranked No. 5 among the states drawing mover interest in MoveBuddha’s 2026 data, accounting for 12% of the nation’s total net inbound moving searches, according to MoveBuddha. The five states with the highest net inbound search volumes together represented 73% of nationwide net inbound demand in the report.
South Carolina led the state rankings so far in 2026, with 202 inbound searches for every 100 outbound searches. The company’s 2025 report also placed South Carolina first for mover interest and North Carolina third.
Florida Leads the City Rankings
The Villages, Florida, topped MoveBuddha’s 2026 city list so far, with an inbound-to-outbound search ratio of 3.58 to 1. Florida had seven of the top 10 cities, the company reported.
The rankings describe search activity, not why people move or whether those searches lead to relocations. MoveBuddha has pointed to jobs, infrastructure, outdoor access and quality of life as draws in smaller growth markets—factors that may help explain why Wilmington and Cary appeared alongside Florida’s retirement and resort hubs.
The News & Observer's North Carolina service journalism team, where reporter Simone Jasper covers service journalism out of Raleigh, has invited readers to send questions, tips and story ideas about life in North Carolina.
