Posted on 05/24/2026 8:41:50 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Nearly 15 million Americans moved in 2025, with many relocating across state lines in search of lower costs, job opportunities, and warmer climates.
This map, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, shows net migration per 10,000 residents across all 50 states in 2025, revealing where population inflows were strongest and which states saw the biggest outflows.
The data comes from HireAHelper.
Southern and Mountain West states dominated the rankings for inbound migration, while several high-cost coastal states continued to lose residents.
The data reflects large-scale shifts happening in the country’s population distribution, both from the Eastern half to the Western half, as well as shifts away from more expensive states to cheaper, often inland ones.
In 2025, the Western half of the U.S. saw a continuation of post-COVID trends as people left behind coastal states like Washington (-10.7) and Oregon (-9.0) in favor of more inland Mountain West states like Wyoming (+26.0), Utah (+7.3), and especially Idaho (+63.2).
The data table below highlights the net migration loss/gain per 10,000 inhabitants in 2025:
The more populous coastal states, which have long been hubs for key economic sectors like tech and aviation, have seen a number of moves in recent years owing to jobs either relocating or shifting to remote work.
Nowhere on the West Coast saw a bigger drop than California, which saw a net migration loss of -25.1, as nearly 100,000 residents left behind the increasingly unaffordable state in favor of cheaper neighboring states like Nevada, which lacks a state income tax.
California is not alone in losing people over affordability issues. If net migration trends are any indication, other high cost of living states such as New York (-28.2) and Massachusetts (-37.9) also increasingly shed residents.
A majority of the Northeast fared similarly, with all states but Delaware, Maine, and New Hampshire seeing more people leave than arrive in 2025.
And in the immediate region surrounding the nation’s capital, the states of Maryland (-27.4) and Virginia (-13.7) also saw negative net migration, likely reflecting in part the large reduction in the federal workforce seen over the course of the year.
If one region is seeing across-the-board growth, it’s the South, led by states like South Carolina (+79.7), Tennessee (+43.6), and Alabama (+36.6).
Long one of the more economically depressed regions of the country, a combination of lower costs of living and nicer weather has led to rapid growth for southern “Sun Belt” states such as Arkansas and Oklahoma, to say nothing of massive favorites like Texas and the Sunshine State of Florida.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Decline of Housing Affordability in the U.S. on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
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I know my once great conservative home state of Washington gained the most homeless moving there for the freebies and easy access to drugs and also the most illegal aliens coming to this welcoming sanctuary state also for the freebies and to vote Democrat.
A good post
These are big big numbers.
As a new England transplant in Arkansas.... Don’t let people like me in.
My vote is more solid red than the natives but I am NOT good for your culture.
Fortunately, I traveled a lot and saw much of the world when the world was a nicer place. Greece and Turkey were really interesting then and perfectly safe. Turkey has gone off the rails with Islamist Erdogan leading it now and I have no clue about Greece. The islands were terrific, especialy Crete.
I thought Florida would be a prime destination state but it’s only in the middle of the ranking.
lower costs of living and nicer weather has led to rapid growth for southern “Sun Belt” states such as Arkansas and Oklahoma
Make Californicators far far away. They destroy everything
We re so poor in here in Vermont we CANT afford to move
Florida’s insurance issues are causing people to leave FL. We know several who have left there to come to TN.
Thass OK!
We FRee state people are good to go!
Crowded! We don’t need any more immigrants!
Tourists? Well! C’mon in! Vacation with us and then go home!
Kinda tongue in check, but you get the picture — We be in good shape for the future!
If only there was a clue as to why.
Warning!! Idaho is AWFUL. DO NOT move there.
What’s going on in Kansas and Nebraska and Missouri that they are losing lots of people?
And on the flip side, who is crazy enough to move to Minnesota or New Mexico?
How are these states gaining population?
Daughter had a large house on 10 acres in nearby Idaho. Gorgeous place on a road with other lovely homes. Then City Council decided to OK five acre plots per home.Her husband had just died so she sold it at a very good price and moved to Spokane where her best friends live and I happen to as well. She drove back to Idaho house recently and all the neighbors she knew had sold out and left. Plus, horror of horrors, huge strawberry farm was using glysophates, which totally poison the water supply. She had been fighting that for years, winning but not after she left. BTW, strawberries are the most-sprayed crop and you can't get that poison out from under every little seed. Organic only is OK to eat, especially for kids.
As a native Southerner (Florida) who has seen this trend all my life I have two thoughts: 1) if we could build a wall to prevent leftist Yankees from moving here, we would have done it a long long time ago and 2) the more recent trend of Leftugees leaving blue states is a different story. Y'all are welcome. Just keep the Leftards out.
I moved from deep blue Ct to SC 13 years ago. One of the happiest days of my life was when I put Ct in my rearview for good. SC is a great place to live: weather, people (southern manners and hospitality are real things), cost of living is 1/3rd less than Ct, amenities (beaches, mountains, golf, fishing, hunting), great food and 2A friendly. Jasper county is the fastest growing county in the state. We worry about the blue state migration’s effect on politics but so far so good. SC should be a deeper red state but it is solid MAGA.
SC should be a deeper red state but it is solid MAGA.
Ditto that. Came to SC from Mass in 2005.
Now, getting too damn crowded...
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