Americans are continuing to migrate to the Sunbelt and Mountain West, according to the 2026 Apartment List Renter Migration Report.
One enduring feature of the post-pandemic housing market is migration out of dense, expensive markets and into more affordable ones. Census data shows this clearly; from 2024 to 2025, states like California, New York, and Massachusetts experienced domestic migration outflows to the Sun Belt and Mountain West regions.
California and New York Export Renters To Texas And Florida
In absolute terms, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts had the largest net domestic migration outflows between 2024 and 2025. In California specifically, 229,000 more people moved out of the state than moved into it.
California’s total population was essentially flat year-over-year, but only because net negative domestic migration was offset by net positive international migration (+109,000) and net positive natural growth (110,000 more births than deaths). So the state remains a major importer of new residents from across the globe, and also a major exporter of residents to other parts of the country. In percentage terms, the state lost 0.6% of its population to domestic migration.
At the other end of the spectrum, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arizona have gained the most new residents through domestic migration. In North Carolina, net domestic migration totaled +84,000, a +0.8 percent population increase. Meanwhile, the neighbor to the south has cemented itself as the nation’s fastest growing state, at least in percentage terms. For the fourth straight year, South Carolina has topped the rankings, with +1.2 percent population growth (net +66,000 residents).
Conclusion
The geographic flexibility offered by remote work, coupled with worsening affordability, have swayed America’s migration patterns in recent years. Despite migration rates slowing, data from the Census Bureau as well as the Apartment List platform signal sustained interest in lower-density, lower-cost regions of the country, namely the Southeast and Mountain West. But as remote work appears to be losing some momentum, popularity in these regions may also wane, at least for markets that do not offer competitive wages.
