Over the past few years, more and more Americans are making the decision to leave their northern cities and migrate south. So much so that nine out of the top 10 cities with the highest incoming migration are located in the south, 24/7 Wall Street reports. While big cities like New York and Chicago get a lot of the spotlight in things like movies or media coverage, these two cities have actually been bleeding residents faster than almost every other metro area in the country. New York, for example, lost a net of more than 700,000 people.
Meanwhile, during this same time, Orlando, Atlanta, and Houston (despite the downturn in the energy sector) all gained at least a net of 100,000 new residents. Jobs are the biggest reason why so many Americans are choosing to relocate. In seven out of the top 10 cities with the highest incoming domestic migration, the unemployment rate has improved faster than the national average. The unemployment rates in nine out of the top 10 cities with the highest share of their population leaving saw unemployment rates improve at a slower pace than the national rate over the same time period.
Using domestic migration data from April 2010 to July 2015, 24/7 Wall St. identified the cities with the highest rates of domestic migration. With a five-year population growth from net migration of -12.7 percent, Farmington, N.M was the top city in the country in terms of a net loss in population. Jacksonville, N.C., with a five-year population growth of -10.0 Percent came in second and Hinesville, Ga. (-9.4 percent) was third.
The Villages, Fla., on the other hand, saw its population grow 32.0 percent from net migration over the same five-year span, the largest amount in the country. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-N.C., came in second with a five-year population growth from net migration of 13.9 percent and Punta Gorda, Fla. (11.6 percent) was third.
For 24/7 Wall St.’s full list of cities Americans are abandoning and moving to most, click the link below.
