Pack the U-Haul and point it toward the runway.
A far-flung corner of Aurora, Colorado, out by Denver International Airport, is now the most popular landing spot for movers in the country, according to the September edition of MovingPlace’s Hottest ZIP Codes report.
The ranking, built on 890,131 moves logged in August, measures how many newcomers a ZIP code absorbs relative to its size, which lets small, fast-growing enclaves punch well above their weight.
Aurora’s 80019 ZIP leapfrogged from a tie for eighth place in the previous month’s list to the top slot.
The lesson from the leaderboard is simple. Build it, or send people there for a job, and they will come.
“The new September Hottest ZIP Codes Report indicates that the strongest moving activity in the last month is tied to places where there’s either a lot of new housing being built or a steady pipeline of people relocating for work,” Daniel Cobb, senior editor at MovingPlace, told The Post.
In Aurora, known as “the Gateway to the Rockies,” it’s the bulldozers doing the recruiting. Master-planned neighborhoods such as Painted Prairie and High Point have been soaking up buyers who can no longer swing a house closer to downtown Denver. The typical home there is valued at $529,300, and the median household pulls in $129,154.
“Aurora is a good example,” Cobb said. “The 80019 suburban corridor is still relatively new, with a lot of housing being added around Denver International Airport. Lower land costs have helped keep both rents and new home prices relatively affordable compared with other parts of the Denver area.”
The runner-up is a different animal entirely. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the Army installation on the Missouri River that houses the Combined Arms Center and the Command and General Staff College, held the No. 2 position for a second consecutive month.
Nobody is fleeing Brooklyn for the Kansas prairie.
“Kansas tells a completely different story,” Cobb said. “Fort Leavenworth is heavily influenced by military moves, so its appearance near the top of the ranking isn’t necessarily about people choosing Kansas as a lifestyle destination, but likely more to do with the influx of service members and their families.”
Because the post’s population is so small, even a routine rotation of officers can send its numbers soaring.
“Coming out of the peak summer moving season, that effect can be even more pronounced as activity in other areas starts to slow,” Cobb added.
Then there’s Florida, which grabbed three of the 10 spots.
Port Saint Lucie’s 34987 ZIP code landed third, powered by the sprawling Tradition development, a longtime draw for retirees and remote workers ditching the Northeast. Homes there carry a median value of $430,100.
Coming in fourth was Inlet Beach, the ritzy Panhandle hamlet on scenic Highway 30A next door to Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach. It’s the priciest ZIP on the list by a mile, with a median home value of $947,700, and its bounce back into the rankings likely reflects wealthy buyers scooping up vacation homes.
Bradenton’s 34211, which takes in the booming Lakewood Ranch area east of Sarasota, rounded out the Sunshine State’s haul at No. 6, where new construction keeps the moving trucks rolling and homes are valued at $601,300.
Texas planted two flags, both in the Dallas-Fort Worth exurbs. Lavon, a small Collin County town near Lake Lavon, came in fifth, a regular on the list in recent months. Justin, a Denton County community along US-377 where developments like Union Park are sprouting from former ranchland, cracked the top 10 at No. 9 for the first time in months.
City dwellers aren’t entirely out of the picture. Richmond, Virginia’s 23230, a renter-heavy stretch of the West End near Willow Lawn, cooled to seventh after leading the entire country in July.
Downtown Hartford, Connecticut’s 06103 debuted at No. 8, a jump fueled by office-to-apartment conversions in a neighborhood with few full-time residents. And Nashville’s 37203, covering Midtown and Music Row, grabbed the 10th spot thanks to a crop of new rental towers luring young professionals.
Not everyone held their ground. Richmond’s 23219, El Paso’s 79908 and Nashville’s 37228 all tumbled out of the top 10 after making the cut the month before.
