Americans are relocating at lower rates than in decades past, but the people who are moving are doing so in highly patterned ways. Across IRS migration filings and major moving-company indices, a clear destination map emerges: the Sunbelt and Southeast dominate net domestic inflow, while several large coastal and Midwest states continue to post the biggest losses.
The strongest evidence comes from IRS state-to-state migration data, which tracks address changes on tax returns. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) translates these net gains and losses into an easy-to-grasp “in minutes” measure, how frequently a state gains or loses a net taxpayer.
The Top Destination States
Based on IRS net migration for 2021–2022, five states clearly stand out as leading destinations for new residents: Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Florida and Texas sit in a category of their own. NTUF’s timing estimates show Florida gaining a net resident every 2 minutes and 9 seconds, and Texas every 2 minutes and 53 seconds over the period studied. The next tier follows at a slower pace but still clearly positive, with North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee all attracting steady inflows of new residents.
Importantly, this isn’t just a quirk of one dataset. 2024 moving indicators match the same destination leaderboard. U-Haul’s 2024 Growth Index, based on one-way rental flows, also ranks South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee as the top five inbound states, just in a slightly different order. United Van Lines’ 2024 movers study similarly flags the Southeast and Sun Belt as the nation’s primary inbound region.
Put together, the story is straightforward: if you want to know where Americans are moving, follow the Sun Belt corridor, especially Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas/Tennessee arc.
Where Americans are Leaving
On the flip side, IRS filings show that the states losing the most residents are led by California, which posts both the largest net loss and the fastest outflow. It is followed by New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. NTUF’s estimate is especially stark for California, which loses a net resident every 1 minute and 44 seconds during the 2021–2022 window. New York follows close behind. News coverage of the IRS results has repeatedly highlighted this same mix of high-outflow states and the corresponding Sunbelt destinations that are picking up those movers.
Why These States are Winning Residents
While every move is personal, the dominant migration pattern has a few repeatable structural drivers.
Housing and cost of living.
The top inflow states generally offer more attainable housing and faster homebuilding than coastal hubs. Even as prices rise nationally, homeownership and rents remain comparatively cheaper across many Southern metros, making it easier for households to trade cramped or expensive housing for more space and stability.
Taxes and household finances.
Florida and Texas, the top two destination states, have no state income tax, and the rest of the top five typically maintain lower overall tax burdens than the states losing the most residents. Migration researchers, including NTUF, repeatedly note that tax climate is a meaningful factor in where people choose to relocate, especially for higher earners and retirees.
Jobs and post-pandemic work patterns.
Texas and the Carolinas continue to capture corporate relocations, new facilities, and population-scaled job growth. At the same time, remote and hybrid work have given many workers the flexibility to leave high-cost regions while keeping their jobs, allowing them to chase affordability and lifestyle upgrades without fully sacrificing career paths.
Quality of life and climate.
Warmer weather, suburban space, and the perception of a “better lifestyle for the money” are recurring themes in mover surveys and state-migration commentary. For many households, the promise of shorter winters, larger homes, and a lower day-to-day cost of living is enough to justify the upheaval of a long-distance move, reinforcing the regional tilt toward the Southeast and Sunbelt.
What to Keep in Mind About the Data
No migration dataset is perfect, but the convergence across sources is striking.
IRS migration data tracks tax filers and their dependents, which makes it one of the best large-scale indicators of domestic migration. That said, it may undercount movers who don’t file returns. NTUF’s “minutes” rankings are based on 2021–2022 filings, but 2024 mover indices from companies like U-Haul and United Van Lines replicate the same top five destination states, strengthening the case that this is a durable trend rather than a one-year blip. Moving-company studies, for their part, capture customers rather than the full population, so they are most useful as trend confirmation, and on that front, they clearly line up with the IRS data.
Bottom Line
Even in an era of historically low mobility, America’s internal migration map is sharply defined. Florida and Texas remain heavyweight magnets for new residents, joined by a fast-growing Southeast tier that includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, California and New York lead the nation in net outflow, with Illinois and parts of the Northeast also posting sustained losses.
The result is a demographic reshuffling that continues to favor lower-cost, lower-tax, high-growth Southern states, reshaping housing markets, regional economies, and even political power as people vote with their feet and head south.
