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U.S. Cities that Americans Move To

Which metro areas in the U.S. gained the greatest number of people via domestic migration between 2010–2024?
This measures the number of Americans who moved in minus the number who moved out
Source: 2010s, 2020s
This quiz is the opposite
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Last updated: May 15, 2025
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First submittedMay 5, 2021
Times taken29,239
Average score55.0%
Rating4.45
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Gain
Metro Area
703,000
Dallas / Fort Worth
575,000
Phoenix
454,000
Tampa
426,000
Austin
400,000
Houston
347,000
Charlotte
336,000
San Antonio
320,000
Atlanta
249,000
Orlando
247,000
Sarasota / Bradenton
242,000
Las Vegas
235,000
Jacksonville
231,000
Nashville
228,000
Raleigh
201,000
Fort Myers / Cape Coral
196,000
Lakeland
185,000
Myrtle Beach
167,000
Daytona Beach
151,000
Boise
140,000
Charleston
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57 Comments
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
May 5, 2021
Maybe buy real estate in Myrtle Beach? There were only 376,000 people in the metro area in 2010, but they gained 138,000 more via domestic migration alone.

Note: Looking at the data more, this may be explained by people moving for retirement.

1ProximaCentauri
+5
Level 53
May 5, 2021
So San Bernardino and Los Angeles are relatively close to each other, so why is it that so many people move TO San Bernardino, and away from LA?
Ardennes
+30
Level 85
May 5, 2021
Because it’s less expensive to live in Riverside/San Bernardino than LA.
eayal003
+2
Level 61
Jul 1, 2021
As someone who lived in Riverside for about 5 years, it's very true, it's a lot cheaper to live out there for sure.
mf3
+10
Level 90
May 5, 2021
Also, they're clearly flooding into Florida while flooding out of Miami. Actually, Florida IS literally flooding.
Trombone
+4
Level 61
Jul 1, 2021
living in Orlando, so much new housing, so much.... it's honestly scary
Karrotism
+1
Level 63
Feb 17, 2023
in Palm Bay, i feel ya man. there are so many people moving here
nonono
+3
Level 91
May 6, 2021
I wonder if Los Angles was combined with San Bernardino/Riverside, if the total net influx would be near the top. Much of LA's "loss" is just people moving to the exurbs.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
May 7, 2021
No. Los Angeles has a loss more than 5 times greater than Riverside's gain. Not to mention that the state as a whole is losing population despite massive international immigration. Americans really are leaving Southern California in large numbers.
AlfredBenjamin
+3
Level 73
Jul 1, 2021
I thought San Bernardino and Riverside were part of LA metro area?
TravelingMama
+6
Level 72
May 5, 2021
I'm surprised Sacramento isn't on here. It seems like there is nonstop housing construction in every direction.
French2010
+4
Level 96
May 6, 2021
Not surprised at Phoenix. We retired to this area seven years ago and we already don't recognize some parts of our town due to the exploding development - commercial as well as residential. Just as the climate grows hotter and AZ water supplies get tighter and tighter. Now wondering why we're here.
Quizmaster
+21
Level ∞
May 7, 2021
When Phoenix gets too crowded, you can move to Idaho. When Idaho gets too crowded, Wyoming. And if Wyoming gets too crowded, Mongolia I suppose.

Mongolia: The last best place.

NV1
+6
Level 55
May 8, 2021
My dream house would be located in a Rural Place. Preferably Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota. I'll point out Idaho because I watched a splendid documentary on the state not too long ago.
1ProximaCentauri
+8
Level 53
May 11, 2021
I respectfully disagree, because Rural Areas generally have less Job Opportunities, and the nearest house might be a half hour away. I would want to live in a suburb just like the one I live in now, except maybe in a metro area with a slightly better reputation, like Seattle.
chailattee
+6
Level 68
May 11, 2021
My dream house would be a high-rise condo in the middle of a city, but unless I somehow become a millionaire, that's not gonna happen, so I guess i'll stick to the suburbs.
ing
+4
Level 73
May 16, 2021
Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and North Dakota are best for militia members.
martay
+3
Level 69
May 17, 2021
Then there's Outer Mongolia. I'm not really sure where that is but I guess that's kinda the point.
AnnikaKim
+4
Level 66
Jul 1, 2021
No need to go to such a cold and distant place as Mongolia. There's plenty of space in Finland.
JWatson24
+4
Level 71
Jul 1, 2021
I was just gonna comment on this. Mongolia seems like a nice place overall, but isn't it frigid? This quiz says it's, on average, the third coldest country in the world. And unlike Canada and Russia, where most of the population lives in the somewhat warmer areas, Mongolia seems uniformly cold everywhere. Thanks, but no.
tish418
+4
Level 45
Jul 1, 2021
I was in Mongolia during the summer and it was really nice, felt warmer than the summers here in Ireland. It will get very cold in the winter though.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 92
Jul 2, 2021
Then half of Mongolia's 3 million people jam into Ulan Bator anyways....
plattitude
+6
Level 94
May 20, 2021
Found this one significantly harder than the one from which cities people are leaving. Thankfully my city isn't on this list yet, though it feels like we're being invaded by Californians!
3nchiladas
+2
Level 69
May 29, 2022
bruh. You should wish your city was on here, that means your economy is booming.
Karrotism
+10
Level 63
Jun 6, 2023
-natural beauty of the city being wiped out

-job opportunities become more scarce

-rapidly rising costs of living

economy aint everything

SpencerGT
+7
Level 68
Jun 1, 2021
Wow, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland. Who knew? ;)
DuvalTilWeDie
+3
Level 55
Jul 1, 2021
Happy to see Jax on here. Lots of FL trash talk (understandably), but lots of good areas to move to for sure.
Blob400
+4
Level 64
Jul 1, 2021
Yeah that’s so unfair to trash talk Jacksonville just for being floridian. Everyone knows it’s really just south georgia
AlfredBenjamin
+4
Level 73
Jul 1, 2021
Being Scandinavian and not liking it being too hot, I think Denver would be the only place I wouldn't melt..
3nchiladas
+3
Level 69
May 29, 2022
There's plenty of places in the east or midwest that get plenty cold. Chicago, NYC, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, etc.

Denver is not even very cold.

madmonte
+7
Level 70
Jul 1, 2021
I typed in Cape Coral, that should be accepted for Fort Myers, by the metrics you are using (similar to Bradenton, Sarasota)
Milo74
+2
Level 70
Dec 15, 2022
Yep. I live in Fort Myers. Everybody in SWFL knows that Cape Coral is a good bit more populous - more than twice as populous, actually, even though FM is the county seat.

Quizmaster, please see here: It's in the first paragraph. "Cape Coral" should also be accepted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_County,_Florida

ed1969
+5
Level 74
Jul 1, 2021
So many of these places are going to be excruciatingly hot and dry or getting pounded by rising seas in the not too distant future.

I have a feeling that properties in the northern rust belt states and lake regions are going to explode once it becomes clear that the sun belt will eventually be uninhabitable.

jmellor13
+5
Level 68
Jul 1, 2021
I knew for a fact that Dallas is #1 because a friend who lives there has mentioned it, but I seriously cannot understand why. It's such a dull place. I understand why people are moving to Texas generally, but Dallas...no. Even the people I know who come from there don't have much to say about it. Go to Austin.
Asterlan
+1
Level 57
Jul 2, 2021
Austin is too expensive, while Dallas is pretty cheap.

I don’t live in Texas but that’s the impression I’ve got.

LoneStar
+1
Level 54
Jul 2, 2021
You are correct. There is still affordable housing in Dallas/Ft. Worth, but it's pretty much non-existent at this point in Austin, at least not in the city proper.
JWatson24
+3
Level 71
Jul 2, 2021
I have a cousin who just moved to Dallas for a job opportunity. That seems to be a big thing that draws people to Dallas, even if it is a "dull" city (although having never been there myself, I don't know whether or not I would agree with that).
stankyC
+1
Level 64
Jul 7, 2021
It's dull, but relatively cheap (this is changing fast) and it's very easy to get a job here.
LoneStar
+1
Level 54
Jul 2, 2021
Can confirm with Austin, I grew up there and the city has doubled in size since I was a kid..and that's just city, not counting the metro area.
AlBysmal
+3
Level 56
Jul 3, 2021
As a South Carolinian, I'm a little surprised that Myrtle Beach made it on here. I knew that the general trend in migration has been to move to the Sun Belt (i.e. the southeast and southwest), but I didn't think too many people were moving to South Carolina. It makes sense, though, given how Myrtle is a popular destination for retirees
LuckyCat
+2
Level 72
May 15, 2025
Also a South Carolinain, and I got Charleston but not Myrtle Beach. Didn't really think about it tbh.
communisteggplant
+7
Level 74
Oct 12, 2021
Air conditioning seems like a pretty consequential invention...
cathlete
+1
Level 78
May 15, 2025
I was thinking the same thing
3nchiladas
+1
Level 69
May 29, 2022
Pretty surprised about Seattle.
LuckyCat
+2
Level 72
Jan 1, 2025
As someone from South Carolina (Charleston), I'm very surprised to see Myrtle Beach and not our city, I thought for sure more people would be moving here than there.
LuckyCat
+2
Level 72
May 15, 2025
edit: YAY CHARLESTON!

our city is fantastic

Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
May 15, 2025
Seattle is off the list now. We've had negative domestic migration since 2020, despite being the second highest-paying jobs market in the world after San Francisco.

I can't imagine the riots and fentanyl crisis did us any favors.

loganite
+4
Level 93
May 15, 2025
Riots, opioids, homeless crisis, taxes, weather (real or perceived)...oh, and the documentary "Seattle is Dying" probably didn't help either! ;)
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
May 15, 2025
2020/21 was definitely a low point for the city.

But it's actually gotten quite a bit better since then. They've cleaned up some of the worst encampments. Murders and drug overdoses are trending in the right direction too.

That said, we've still got a long way to go. Parts of the city still look like a Third World country, which is a sad indictment for one of the richest cities in the world that has a lavish government budget to match.

That said, the weather in Seattle is great compared to most places in the country!

OnionBoy
+2
Level 87
Apr 28, 2025
Please accept Cape Coral for Fort Myers.
nerdalert
+4
Level 89
May 15, 2025
Build the wall at the Florida border!
Pontiac
+1
Level 62
Aug 29, 2025
What border? Florida is pure American. Although they should think about adding a sea wall to protect them against floods because they sit near sea level
shrekcena
+2
Level 60
Jun 24, 2025
A list of normal places to move and then manmade floridian horrors beyond my comprehension that nobody guesses because why would they
MaxTheAxe
+1
Level 75
Sep 4, 2025
Top of that list is Cape Coral. Why anyone would choose to live in an area where housing is on land created by dredging up coastal river bottom is a mystery to me. And only a few feet above sea level! Then they wonder why Florida flood insurance is so expensive.
KanzazKyote
+2
Level 92
Mar 17, 2026
Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam... A lot more cities than you think were createdly significantly from dredging up/shoring up land (or in Dubai's case is mainly normal land but is creating luxury housing on reclaimed land).
Selmarya
+2
Level 67
Sep 8, 2025
now make a quiz excluding florida metro areas
Underdasher
+1
Level 44
Dec 2, 2025
Managed to miss Las Vegas, but I got Sarasota
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