These Are the States Americans Are Leaving in Droves Right Now, According to New Data

A new report shows that even as interstate migration slows overall, a few expensive states are still losing huge numbers of residents.

Americans are not moving around the country quite like they were a few years ago. A new report from StorageCafe, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, found that interstate migration fell to 2.1% of the U.S. population in 2024, down from 2.3% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2022.

But that slowdown does not mean every state is suddenly hanging onto residents. The report ranked all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by net domestic migration, or the difference between how many people moved in versus how many moved out.

The big theme running through this report is cost. States with high housing prices, heavier tax burdens, and less flexibility in the housing market are still losing residents, even if the pace has cooled a bit from the height of the pandemic moving boom.

4. New Jersey

New Jersey lost about 61,000 residents to other states in 2024, putting it among the biggest domestic migration losers once again.

That total was slightly better than the year before, but not by enough to change the bigger picture. Like several other states on this list, New Jersey continues to struggle with the same combination that tends to push people elsewhere: high housing costs, a high cost of living more broadly, and nearby alternatives that can look a lot more appealing once families start comparing what their money gets them.

3. Illinois

Illinois saw around 81,000 residents leave for other states in 2024.

This has been a familiar story for Illinois for a while now. Even with some modest improvement from previous years, the state is still posting major losses, and it is hard to separate that from the appeal of lower-cost states that now offer many of the same things people are looking for: jobs, more space, and a better shot at affordable homeownership.

2. New York

New York lost roughly 129,000 residents to other states in 2024, making it the second-biggest state for domestic migration losses.

The interesting wrinkle here is that departures actually slowed compared to the previous year. The report suggests that could be tied in part to changing remote-work policies. When fewer workers have the freedom to move anywhere, it gets harder to leave a high-cost state unless there is a very strong reason to do it. New York is still losing a lot of people, just not at quite the same pace.

1. California

California remained far ahead of every other state on this list, losing more than 263,000 residents to other states in 2024.

It was also California’s 10th straight year of net domestic migration losses, which says a lot. The report notes that the 2024 figure was a little higher than in 2023, though still below the outflow peak seen during 2021 and 2022.

Housing costs are obviously a huge part of the story here, but they are not the whole story. Taxes, land-use constraints, and the simple reality that many residents can get more house for less money somewhere else all continue to shape where people go next. The report also points out that California has now posted net domestic migration losses for a full decade, so this is not some short-term blip.

And while some states continue to lose residents, others are still pulling people in—even if not at the same pace as a few years ago. I broke down the top states Americans are moving to right now here.

Read next: These Are the 10 States Americans Are Moving to Most Right Now, According to New Data