Revealed: The five states Americans are moving to in droves
Americans are increasingly drawn to the southern United States, with five states in particular attracting the most transplants.
Most people moved within their borders in 2023, according to a new migration survey from Florida and Texas National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR).
Florida had a net influx of 372,870 people last year, while 315,301 went to Texas, according to the report, which analyzed U.S. Census data.
North Carolina welcomed 126,712 new residents in 2023 and has previously become a fast-growing state.
Home to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, added 91,853 people last year.
Georgia rounded out the top five, adding 88,325 people to its growing population.
Tennessee came in at number six with a net migration of more than 76,000, followed by Arizona (57,814), Alabama (36,128) and Oklahoma (31,967).
Ohio came in 10th and was the only state north of the Mason-Dixon line to make the list, following a net migration of 28,718.
According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, Florida had a net influx of 372,000 people last year. (Photo: Clearwater Beach, Florida)
The study found that Texas welcomed a net 315,301 new residents in 2023. (Photo: Austin, Texas)
North Carolina, another fast-growing state, welcomed 126,712 new residents in 2023
Much of the dialogue around Americans moving south assumes they’re looking for warmer temperatures and sunnier skies, but that’s not the whole picture.
According to the report, only one percent of those who moved said they did so for climate-related reasons.
The most common things that caused people to pack up and leave were “housing reasons” (42 percent), “family reasons” (26 percent) and “work reasons” (16 percent).
There is a housing crisis all over the country. Between 1995 and 2023, the median household income increased 2.3 times, from $34,076 per year to $80,610.
During the same period, the average home sales price rose 3.4 times from $114,600 to $389,800, according to figures from NAR.
That has led to many Americans being priced out of the market, with the average age of a homebuyer rising to 56 this year. That’s more than the 49-year-old last year.
The combination of persistently rising prices and historically high mortgage interest rates has created the perfect recipe for housing unaffordability.
Still, there are bargains to be found, but especially in the southern US.
South Carolina, home to Myrtle Beach (pictured), added 91,853 people last year
Georgia rounded out the top five, adding 88,325 people to its growing population
The typical home price in California ($791,000) and New York ($459,000) is much higher than in Texas ($303,000) and Florida ($415,000), according to Zillow.
California and New York also happen to be the two states where the most people are fleeing, as both states have high income taxes and stricter business regulations. Florida and Texas have no income tax.
North Carolina does have an income tax, but it is much lower than New York or California.
About 16 percent of customers surveyed in the NAR report said they moved for lower taxes, and the majority of them moved south.
A larger proportion, 30 percent of clients surveyed, moved to be closer to family and friends. A third of that group moved south.
This phenomenon is partly caused by seniors moving near their adult children who have children of their own. These older Americans often help with child care, which has become exorbitantly expensive in recent years.
According to the report, between January 2020 and September 2024, the price of child care and preschool increased by about 22 percent. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The South has become the most populous region in the US, thanks almost entirely to Florida and Texas.
Despite being the most populous city in the US, New York is a state where many lifelong residents are fleeing for cheaper real estate (Photo: The sun rises over 42nd Street in Manhattan in a phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge on November 30, 2024)
The same goes for California, which has lost hundreds of thousands of people since January 2020 (photo: skyline of downtown Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods)
California has been the most populous state in the union since 1964. when it overtook New York.
New York dropped to third place in 1994, as Texas surged past 18.1 million residents. Florida later surpassed the Empire State.
And data suggests this trend will only get stronger as the decades pass.
A study from February of move Buddha predicted that Texas and Florida would be the first and second largest states, respectively, by 2100, followed by California, Georgia, North Carolina and New York.
California has steadily lost hundreds of thousands of citizens since 2019 before making modest gains in 2023.
This first-ever population decline in California came after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the state imposed some of the strictest lockdown measures in the country.
From January 2020 to July 2022, California lost over half a million people.
Florida, on the other hand, had looser pandemic restrictions. The state allowed restaurants and other businesses to open without mask mandates by September 2020, long before most other states did the same.