12 top housing markets for population growth

Consumers seeking cheaper housing, moving for jobs, or relocating for their families cause migration patterns and shift the populations around the country. Bright lights of the big housing markets draw huge influxes of people every year, but can also squeeze just as many out due to exorbitant prices.

"Often the cities that attract the most newcomers are the same places where people are forced to compete for living space," Holden Lewis, home expert at NerdWallet, said in a press release. "In these growing metros, if construction of affordable housing doesn't keep pace with population growth, then rents and home prices will rise."

About 47 million residents moved annually from 2012 to 2016. Nearly 18% of movers said they went elsewhere to cut their housing expenses.

"The more populated a city is, the more expensive homes will be, which generally reserves homeownership to those with high incomes," Lewis said. "Lower incomes among renters combined with high housing costs means it's an uphill battle for those who are looking to save for a home in America's most populated cities."

From the high of the Rocky Mountains to down all across the South, here's a look at the 12 housing markets with the largest average annual migration.

NerdWallet based its list of migration flows and homeowner costs of the 25 most populous metro areas on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey and American Housing Survey.