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The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a trend for people to move out of high-tax, expensive states such as New York, California and Massachusetts, into other states with more space and affordability, new data shows.
In the third quarter of 2020, nearly 47,000 more Redfin.com users looked to leave New York than to move in. The potential net outflow represented a 35% increase compared to the figure of the same period last year, at 35,000, according to a report released Wednesday by the real estate brokerage.
“New York’s loss is Florida’s gain,” Redfin economist Taylor Marr said in the report. “When the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, remote workers started leaving New York City and its ultra-expensive housing in search of wide-open spaces, sunshine and affordable homes—all of which you can find in Florida, with the bonus of no state income tax.”
The trend has intensified as people feel more certain of their remote work and school plans, he added.
Across the country, California saw the largest uptick in potential net-population outflow, with 53,000 more Redfin.com users looking to move out than into the state. The number rose 62% from the third quarter of 2019 and was the highest rate on record since Redfin started tracking migration in the beginning of 2017.
Other areas that saw more people moving out than in were Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and Illinois, while the states with the largest increase in people looking to move in included Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Nevada, according to the report.
