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The U-Haul Indicator
My colleague, Simon Cawley, shared this with me. The U-Haul indicator is a simple test of migration patterns in the U.S. Put simply, it costs more to rent a U-Haul moving truck when the destination city is more popular than the origination city.
So what does it cost to leave Las Vegas?
Try $1,880 if you want to rent a 26-foot U-Haul truck, fill it with your worldly goods, and drive it to San Antonio. (In these comparisons, Nov. 3 was selected as the moving date.) But if you wanted to leave San Antonio (August unemployment rate: 7%) and move to Las Vegas, it would cost you only $437 for the same equipment.
Want to move from Chicago (9.7% unemployment) to Houston (8.4% unemployment)? It will cost you $1,970. But it will cost only $449 to make the trip from Houston to Chicago.
Los Angeles (11.8% unemployment) to Houston was $2,051, while Houston to Los Angeles was only $555.
Not surprisingly, there is a significant Texas premium. 
About Jude Galligan:
Jude Galligan, Broker-Owner of RE/MAX Downtown Austin and publisher of Downtown Austin Blog (aka. "DAB"), is a veteran sales professional assisting buyers and sellers of downtown Austin lofts, condos, and real estate. A resident owner in downtown Austin and an active community stakeholder, Jude serves on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) and the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA).Contact Jude
great find.