I'm looking for data on how often Americans relocate. Another way to
answer this question would be to find out how long Americans own their
homes.

An academic (i.e., published in a journal) reference is ideal.

A government reference is the next-best thing.
 
A magazine article is OK as well.

Dear mtalinm-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Here is
a series of documents from the US Census Bureau that I believe will
sufficiently answer your question. Here are some pertinent excerpts to
show you the kinds of conclusions the research has made:

?About 1 in 6 Americans move each year.?

?The average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime.?

US CENSUS BUREAU
?Geographical Mobility?
http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/geomob.html

The document goes quite deeper than this first page so you?ll probably
want to study it in detail (which will probably take some time
depending on how much and what types of information you are needing):

US CENSUS BUREAU
?AMERICAN HOUSING SURVEY?
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/ahs.html

AMERICAN HOUSING SURVEY
?National Data?
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/nationaldata.html

AMERICAN HOUSING SURVEY
?Metropolitan Data?
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/metropolitandata.html


One must appreciate of course that government statistics are somewhat
belated because many studies, polls, surveys and samplings are taken
from the previous completed decade. It would be atypical to find
Governmental statistical information on any subject that is current as
of today.


I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Average

American

Move

Relocate

Frequency

How often

Statistics

Survey

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Request for Answer Clarification by mtalinm-ga on 30 Aug 2005 14:58 PDT

thanks! - avg # moves in a lifetime gets me most of the way there. to
complete the answer, I need to know the average lifespan of an
American. is that 77 or so?

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 30 Aug 2005 15:36 PDT

No problem.  Again, looking to published government documents,
according to the Centers for Disease Control National Center for
Health Statistics based on information and trends gathered as late as
2003, the average life expectancy of an American is 77.6 years.

National Center for Health Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm
(published Aug 25, 2005) 

I hope this follow up answer helps you come to the conclusion you are
seeking. I look forward to your rating and final comments.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

prompt and responded to further inquiry