What Auburn’s Statewide Survey Found About Alabamians Who Want to Move but Can’t

Many people daydream about packing up and starting over somewhere new.

When a university survey asked Alabamians about it, some said they’d like to move but don’t feel they can.

Here’s what the answers show about who feels stuck, and why.

Who Ran the Survey and How

Auburn University researchers ran the 2025 Our State, Our Lives Alabama Wellbeing Survey, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System published the results in 2026.

Respondents answered a 15-minute online survey.

Auburn’s overview of the report says the sampling frame was designed to reflect Alabama’s demographics.

That covers age, race, ethnicity, education, gender and geographic location.

By place, the sample was 45.2% rural, 32.1% urban and 22.8% suburban.

By age, 25.1% were under 35, 48.4% were 35 to 64 and 26.4% were 65 and older.

This is a snapshot.

It covers 2025 and isn’t a head count of every Alabamian.

These are the findings on moving and staying, starting with the headline number.

The Stuck Share

Among 1,947 respondents, Auburn’s wellbeing report says roughly two-thirds want to stay where they live, and one in five report feeling “stuck.”

Urban Residents Who Feel Stuck

Auburn’s wellbeing report says urban residents are more likely to want a new community, though nearly a quarter say they’re unable to move.

About 55% of urban residents said they want to stay where they live, compared with 70% of rural residents and 70% of suburban residents.

That’s a 15-point gap.

Urban dwellers also account for the largest share of respondents who want to move to a suburban or rural area but feel “stuck.”

Satisfaction and Preferences

Statewide, nearly 7 in 10 respondents reported being satisfied with their community, and only about 1 in 10 expressed dissatisfaction.

Rural respondents reported the lowest level of satisfaction.

The report’s executive summary adds that suburban residents were more satisfied than those in urban or rural areas.

Asked what kind of community they’d prefer, more than 40% of all respondents picked rural, while slightly more than a quarter preferred a suburban or urban community.

Rural residents express the greatest desire to stay in their communities.

Where Movers Would Go

Auburn’s survey asked respondents who want to move where they would like to go.

More than two-thirds expressed a desire to stay in Alabama, whether in the same community, in the same county or elsewhere in the state.

Meanwhile, 28% wanted to leave the state or the country.

Reasons to Move or Stay

Among respondents who want to move, 33% said the reason is family or life changes.

Another 25% named a problem with their current housing situation.

The remaining respondents reported undesirable characteristics in their communities or a lack of community amenities.

Together, family or life changes and housing account for 58% of those who want to move.

Economic reasons didn't make the list of reasons to move, which Auburn's wellbeing report calls surprising.

Among respondents who want to stay, roughly half cited community amenities or desirable community characteristics.

About one-fourth said they'd stay for economic reasons, such as a job, or for family and personal life.

Bills in Middle Age

These are the same survey's money findings, which Auburn reported separately from the question about moving.

Statewide, the wellbeing report says 37% of households have trouble paying their bills for six or more months.

Middle age is defined as 35 to 64 in the sample table.

The finance report says middle-aged adults stand out as particularly strained.

Among them, 41% struggled with bills during at least half of the past 12 months.

That compares with 35% of younger adults and 22% of older adults.

That is the highest rate of the three age groups.

Only one-third of low-income households never have trouble paying bills, compared with half of high-income households.

By education, 47% of college graduates never had trouble paying bills, compared with 34% of those with a high school education or less.

Bills by Place

The finance report looked at full-time workers and retirees who make household financial decisions.

Among full-time workers, 43% in rural areas had trouble paying bills in at least half of the past 12 months.

Urban full-time workers came in at 34%, and suburban workers at 31%.

Among retirees, 32% of rural retirees, 31% of urban retirees and 19% of suburban retirees struggled with bills during at least six of the past 12 months.

Caregiving and Work

Caregiving is another finding from the same survey, reported apart from the question about moving.

About one in three respondents said their caregiving responsibilities have limited their ability to work, according to the wellbeing report.

Only 31% of caregivers said they never struggled with bills, compared with 50% of non-caregivers.