(NEXSTAR) – Florida is known as a place people move to, whether it’s for retirement, the warm weather, or the beautiful beaches. But that wasn’t enough for nearly 490,000 people who decided to pack up their things and move out of the Sunshine State in 2022.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data this week showing state-to-state migration trends last year.
The data showed people leaving Florida were most likely to stick around the area. The No. 1 destination was Georgia, with about 51,000 Floridians heading northward.
Other popular choices included Texas (41,747 people moving), North Carolina (34,920), California (28,557), and Tennessee (25,318).
The least likely destination for Floridians? South Dakota. Only about 300 people were brave enough to make that move last year, the Census said.
Despite losing nearly 500,000 people last year, Florida still experience net positive migration, the Census found. The state gained about 740,000 residents from out of state in 2022.
The largest state-to-state move was California to Texas, an Associated Press analysis of the data found, but the second-largest was New York to Florida. About 91,000 people made that move last year.
The new data comes the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. The survey happens more frequently than the official Census and gives people a better idea of changes happening in their community year to year.
