California is still under a stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus pandemic. For many people, that means finding a new place to live. A new survey found many people had to pack up and move entirely due to the pandemic.
"One in five adults know someone or moved themselves because of the outbreak," said D'Vera Cohn with the Pew Research Center. "Because they had lost their jobs and maybe were doubling up, or maybe just a young person who could now work remotely and moved back in with family."
The new research from Pew found a lot of people moved to save money, or because their school transitioned to online classes, but a lot of people also moved for safety.
"Just under 3 in 10 told us they moved because they were worried about contracting the virus where they were living," said Cohn. "They wanted to live someplace safer."
The biggest age group affected were young adults, people under the age of 30. Almost 40% of people in that age group moved themselves or knew someone who had because of the pandemic.
"They're the ones who were sent home from college campuses," said Cohn. "Some of the unemployment statistics show they are very much affected."
While people were moving, they didn't use moving companies for the first few months of the pandemic. Mayflower Transit told NBC 7 Responds that the number of people that hired them was lower in April and May than the year before, but saw a nearly 30% jump in June from the previous year.
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Cohn says even after the pandemic is over, it doesn't mean people will move back to where they lived before.
"Will people choose not to go back?" asked Cohn. "What will happen with workplaces as they reopen? Will it be everyone back or just some people? It might be people decide they like where they moved."
