Americans Are Migrating to These Cities in 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in migration patterns in 2021 and 2022, ultimately influencing housing costs and home building trends. While Americans are still moving at elevated rates, the destinations they are choosing haven’t necessarily stayed the same. To pinpoint where Americans are headed now, U.S. News & World Report examined migration data from the first half of 2025 to identify the most sought-after spots for homebuyers.

Unlike during the pandemic housing boom, Americans in the first half of 2025 are turning their attention to major cities. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago appear the most often in the top 50 migration routes—both as starting points and as end destinations. The most frequent destinations were New York City and Chicago, each referenced eight times in the analysis.

Other major cities, such as Austin, Houston, and Dallas, also were popular destinations in the first half of 2025. Overall, the South was the most attractive region, with 19 of the top 50 migration routes ending in a Southern city. The region’s appeal isn’t surprising given its relatively affordable cost of living compared with other major U.S. regions.

Looking at the data, it’s clear Americans on the move aren’t shying away from big cities, although they could be focused on suburbs or smaller neighborhoods in those cities. The top two starting and ending points on our migration path list, New York City and Los Angeles, are vast metropolitan areas with high costs of living. Moves between these two cities might relate to job opportunities or just be a calling to those seeking a different climate and lifestyle. You’ll get all four seasons in New York City but more sunshine in Los Angeles, while both have typical big-city issues like high housing costs and congested traffic, although New York City has a well-developed public transit system.

Domestic migration interest was highest for moves originating in Western states for destinations in the South as well as other Western cities. Texas in-state moves also popped up as having high interest, with some Texas residents looking to expand their horizons in a new city. Here’s more on how these and other geographic regions were represented in online searches in the first half of this year.