In what is sure to be one of the biggest real estate deals of the year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly relocating to Florida, becoming just the latest California billionaire to flee the Golden State for the Sunshine State following a proposed five-percent wealth tax. But the uber-rich aren’t the only ones relocating for more favorable conservative policies – millions of everyday people are as well.
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau and moving company U-Haul shows that Americans are “voting with their feet” at a rapid clip – and the results are ugly for Democrats. Of the top 10 states for net positive domestic migration, seven are run by a Republican governor and legislature. Of the other three states, one has a Republican governor, but Democrat legislature (Nevada), and two have a Democrat governor but a Republican legislature (North Carolina and Arizona).
Perhaps even more importantly, of those top 10 states, four have no state income tax, while all are considered low-tax states.
Meanwhile, of the worst ten states for net negative domestic migration, nine out of ten are Democrat strongholds. The three worst are the three states most associated with far-left governance – California, New York, and Illinois. Unsurprisingly, these states are also associated with enormously high state tax burdens.
As reported by National Review, of the 22 states with the fastest-growing populations, 17 are solidly red, suggesting again that voters prefer Republican governance. Meanwhile, “the five states that lost population were mostly deep blue — Vermont, Hawaii, West Virginia, New Mexico, and California, with New York just barely breaking even.”
The Census data is backed up by similar results from moving company U-Haul, which tracks the use of one-way rentals as a proxy for someone switching states.
The U-Haul Growth Index found Texas is the fastest-growing state, followed by Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina. “Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee follow Texas as prime destinations,” the report stated. “It’s the same top five from 2024 and 2023, although in a different order.”
That consistency suggests that Americans are looking for the stability provided by a growing economy and low taxes – hallmarks of Republican governance. Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama, and Georgia rounded out the U-Haul top 10.
On the other end of the spectrum, California ranked last “with the greatest out-migration number for the sixth consecutive year,” followed by Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. New Jersey is an anomaly in that it saw new growth but also saw people leaving the state with one-way rentals.
It is not a perfect one-for-one match to say only Republican states are thriving while only Democrat states are dying, but it is fairly close, according to commentator Dan McLaughlin.
“Not every red or blue state pursues the same mix of policies, has the same weather or demographics, or relies upon the same mix of industries,” McLaughlin wrote in National Review about the U-Haul data. “Still, the overall pattern remains clear and consistent, and has for some time.”
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) argues the burdensome taxes in blue states are driving residents away while low-tax states, mostly controlled by Republicans, are drawing in residents.
“The U-Haul annual report lets everyone see which states are failing and which are succeeding as judged by actual Americans,” ATR President Grover Norquist said.
The taxpayer advocacy group also pointed out that right-to-work states, meaning places where workers are not forced to join a union as a condition of employment, also experienced higher rates of growth. In other words, low taxes and worker freedom are attracting citizens, likely because of the economic benefits those policies create.
The growth in these states could also have broader national implications for future national elections. Seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned every ten years based on the population of each state. In turn, Electoral College votes are divided up based on how many senators and representatives a state has.
That spells trouble for Democrats in the long-term and could help Republicans if red states continue to grow – and don’t see the political demographics change. States that voted for Trump in the last election are projected to gain 11 more U.S. House seats, and by extension 11 more Electoral College votes after 2030, according to the American Redistricting Project.
Solidly Democrat states like California and Illinois, meanwhile, would lose U.S. House seats as well as Electoral College votes. Those losses in Democrat states could “turn a 270–268 Democratic map into a 279–259 Republican map,” McLaughlin writes.
Of course, nothing is certain, and it is possible a Democrat candidate could win a state like Florida or Texas in the future if people fleeing California bring their voting preferences with them. However, one thing is clear – Americans want to live in places with low taxes and fewer regulations, and they are willing to uproot their lives to do so.
The Founding Fathers envisioned the states as “laboratories of democracy.” In that grand experiment, it is becoming clearer with each passing year that Democrats are failing.
Matt Lamb is an AMAC Newsline contributor and an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
