Warm Weather States Top National Migration Destinations

April 24, 2006 · Print · Email

Florida, Arizona and Nevada had the highest net domestic migration levels in the country, respectively, for the period 2000-2004, according to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau entitled “Domestic Net Migration in the United States”.

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California showed the highest rate of inmigration of the most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the country for the same period. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida had the second highest rate, while Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale came in third.

On the other side of the scale, New York, California and Illinois saw the highest level of residents leave between 200-2004.

Eighteen of the nation’s 25 largest metro areas showed average annual net outmigration. The highest outmigration rates for the period were in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California MSA, followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York-New Jersey and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts.

Outmigration generally has negative implications because it represents the loss of confidence in the area for opportunities or livability.