Guide · Updated October 2026
Where Should I Move? A Clear Way to Decide
Most people pick from a “best places to live” list and hope. Here’s a method that actually works: name what matters, cut the dealbreakers, check the money in your own numbers, and visit before you sign anything. A free tool does the heavy lifting.
Why “best places to live” lists don’t answer it
A ranking is someone else’s priorities with a number on top. One list weights schools heavily; you might not have kids. Another rewards no income tax; that matters a lot on a salary and much less in retirement. And a state is never one place: a two-bedroom in the San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area area rents for $3,697 a month, against $1,581 around Redding, in the same state. On FEMA’s natural-hazard index, Travis County (Austin) sits at the 21st percentile and Harris County (Houston) at the 75th.
The right answer comes from your priorities, your money and the specific city, in that order.
The six-step decision
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Separate dealbreakers from preferences
Write down what has to be true: within a day’s drive of family, no state income tax, mild winters, a big airport nearby. Everything else is a preference. Dealbreakers remove states; preferences rank the rest.
In Locustep: mark any of the 16 factors as a must-have and states that don’t meet it drop out before scoring.
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Weight what’s left
Not everything matters equally. Choose the three to five things that matter most and say how much: cost of living, housing, climate, jobs, schools, healthcare, safety, taxes, politics, outdoors, distance.
In Locustep: 16 questions, about three minutes. All 50 states ranked for you, with the reason behind every score.
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Shortlist three states, then cities
Compare your top three side by side, then go a level down. City and county matter as much as state: Seattle and Spokane are both in Washington, but FEMA puts King County at the 78th percentile for expected natural-hazard loss and Spokane County at the 1st.
In Locustep: state pages, the map, county data and up-to-four-state comparisons are free.
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Do the money in your numbers
Averages mislead. What matters is your take-home pay after state and local taxes, your rent or mortgage, insurance, the cost of the move itself, and how long until it pays for itself.
In Locustep Premium: the Net-Impact Report puts all of it in dollars against 2026 tax law, line by line, with a break-even month.
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Visit before you commit
A long weekend settles more than a month of research. Drive the commute at rush hour, walk the neighborhood after dark, price a week of groceries, and rate each place while it’s fresh.
In Locustep Premium: the trip planner drafts the scouting weekend from your shortlist, day by day, with a budget.
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Turn the decision into a plan
Once you’ve chosen, the work is a sequence: lease or sale, movers, utilities, license, registration, voter registration, schools. Dates make it real.
In Locustep Premium: a dated checklist with deadlines, documents and a budget that adds itself up.
Common starting points
Safety and climate
What Locustep is, and isn’t
Locustep is a decision tool for people choosing where in the U.S. to live. It ranks all 50 states against your priorities using published data — HUD rents, Census incomes, state tax rates from each revenue department, FBI crime, FEMA disaster risk, NOAA climate normals and BLS wages — and shows its sources for every figure.
It isn’t a moving company, a real-estate site or a lead form. Nobody calls you, there are no ads, and your answers stay in your browser unless you create an account to sync them. It gives information to help you decide; it isn’t financial, tax or legal advice.
Questions people ask
How do I decide where to move?
Start with what has to be true (your dealbreakers), weight everything else by how much it matters to you, shortlist two or three states and then cities, run the money with your own income and housing, visit before you commit, and turn the decision into a dated plan. Locustep does the ranking and comparison for free, and Premium does the money and the plan.
What is the best state to move to?
There isn’t one best state; it depends on what you value. On the measures alone, West Virginia has the cheapest two-bedroom rent, Maine the lowest violent crime rate, Maryland the lowest natural-disaster risk and Massachusetts the highest median household income. Locustep’s free quiz ranks all 50 for your own priorities.
How much does it cost to move to another state?
It depends on distance, how much you’re moving and whether you hire movers, and the bigger number is usually the ongoing one: the change in rent, taxes, insurance and pay once you’re there. Locustep’s Net-Impact Report estimates the move and the change in pay, rent and taxes, including the month the move pays for itself.
Can my partner and I decide together?
Yes. Together mode sends your partner their own half of the quiz. They answer on their phone, no account needed, and Locustep shows a combined ranking with where you agree and where you don’t.
Is Locustep free?
The quiz, all 50 state rankings, maps, state and city pages and side-by-side comparisons are free, with no account needed. Premium is a one-time $39 purchase for the personal money report, the move planner and the trip planner.