States With the Fewest Outgoing Residents

Of Americans who moved during the pandemic, 85% opted to move within their state, according to a new analysis from LendingTree, which evaluated mortgage loan data from March 1, 2020, to Sept. 21, 2021, to learn pandemic moving patterns.

Texas had the highest percentage of residents looking to stay in the state. On the other hand, New York had the highest percentage of residents who left the state.

The number one destination for out-of-state movers: Florida. “Florida is the favorite out-of-state destination for mortgage shoppers in 18 of the 50 states,” LendingTree researchers say in the study. “The Sunshine State has a long history of bringing in visitors and new residents, particularly retirees, thanks to a mix of affordable housing, no state income tax, and sunny weather.”

 

Rank	State	% of movers staying in state	% of movers relocating out of state	Most popular new destination state	% of out-of-state movers looking to relocate to the most popular new destination state
1	Texas	93.33%	6.67%	Florida	11.40%
2	Oklahoma	91.43%	8.57%	Texas	26.16%
3	Florida	91.17%	8.83%	Georgia	16.50%
4	Georgia	91.12%	8.88%	Florida	27.33%
5	Michigan	90.93%	9.07%	Florida	24.91%
6	Ohio	90.49%	9.51%	Florida	23.18%
7	Arkansas	90.32%	9.68%	Texas	19.06%
8	Alabama	90.31%	9.69%	Florida	23.28%
9	Maine	90.24%	9.77%	Florida	27.54%
10	North Carolina	89.55%	10.45%	South Carolina	28.14%
11	Kentucky	89.54%	10.46%	Florida	16.94%
12	Indiana	89.42%	10.58%	Florida	19.34%
13	Mississippi	89.30%	10.70%	Tennessee	16.52%
14	South Carolina	89.25%	10.75%	North Carolina	32.53%
15	Wisconsin	89.10%	10.90%	Florida	15.37%
16	Missouri	89.05%	10.95%	Florida	14.08%
17	Louisiana	88.84%	11.16%	Texas	27.35%
18	Arizona	87.89%	12.11%	California	11.40%
19	Tennessee	87.79%	12.21%	Florida	16.96%
20	Minnesota	87.50%	12.50%	Wisconsin	16.13%
21	Nebraska	87.32%	12.68%	Iowa	16.01%
22	Iowa	87.13%	12.87%	Florida	9.98%
23	Montana	86.67%	13.33%	Washington	8.83%
24	Utah	86.22%	13.78%	Texas	10.14%
25	Oregon	85.48%	14.52%	Washington	26.07%
26	West Virginia	85.33%	14.67%	Ohio	15.50%
27	California	85.07%	14.93%	Texas	15.37%
28	Pennsylvania	84.88%	15.12%	New Jersey	17.51%
29	New Mexico	84.73%	15.27%	Texas	28.70%
30	Washington	84.60%	15.40%	Texas	11.63%
31	Illinois	84.35%	15.65%	Florida	15.91%
32	Idaho	84.09%	15.91%	Washington	17.90%
33	Kansas	83.75%	16.25%	Missouri	33.92%
34	South Dakota	83.51%	16.49%	Florida	10.81%
35	Nevada	83.51%	16.49%	California	15.40%
36	Connecticut	83.01%	16.99%	Florida	22.89%
37	Virginia	82.78%	17.22%	North Carolina	16.90%
38	Colorado	82.57%	17.43%	Texas	12.43%
39	Maryland	81.41%	18.59%	Florida	13.96%
40	Delaware	80.41%	19.59%	Pennsylvania	22.32%
41	New Jersey	80.29%	19.71%	Florida	21.53%
42	Wyoming	80.18%	19.82%	Colorado	2.33%
43	Vermont	79.99%	20.01%	Florida	17.89%
44	New Hampshire	79.96%	20.04%	Massachusetts	20.31%
45	Massachusetts	79.37%	20.63%	New Hampshire	19.83%
46	Alaska	78.59%	21.41%	Texas	11.16%
47	Rhode Island	78.29%	21.71%	Massachusetts	29.17%
48	Hawaii	78.06%	21.94%	California	13.02%
49	North Dakota	77.33%	22.67%	Minnesota	29.65%
50	New York	73.35%	26.65%	New Jersey	20.95%