Texas Leads Migration Trends: Top Provider of New Residents for Nine States
Texas has been the leading provider of new residents for nine states, despite its significant population growth in the past decade. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 state-to-state migration data revealed that Texas was the top source of new residents for Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. With a population of 31 million, Texas gained 2.1 million people between 2020 and 2024, making it the second most populous state in the U.S.
California, Florida, and New York, the most populous states in the country, also contributed a significant number of residents who moved to other states. California, with 39 million residents, supplied the most new residents to western states like Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Florida, with 23 million residents, dominated the number of new residents in southeastern states like Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio. New York was the top source of new residents in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Factors such as population size, real estate prices, job opportunities, and affordability play a role in determining migration patterns. Large states like California, Florida, Texas, and New York naturally generate large volumes of both in-and-out migrants. Some migration patterns were expected, such as former Massachusetts residents being the biggest source of new residents in neighboring states like Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
In most states in 2024, international migration was the top source of new residents, except for states where international migration was not as significant compared to domestic migration. The Census Bureau will release new population estimates next week to show how the U.S. population changed in 2025.