According to Realtor.com, Miami is still a strong draw for professionals from out of state who are looking for fresh opportunities, even though Florida may have lost some of its pandemic-era appeal as net migration fell 93% in three years.
Just 22,517 additional people moved to the Sunshine State last year as a result of net domestic migration, which is calculated as the total number of people moving in from another state less the total number of people leaving. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, that is a decrease from 58,411 in 2024, 183,646 in 2023, and 310,892 in 2022.
Florida was the most popular destination in the country during the peak of the 2021–2022 migration surge. Since then, though, it has slid to the eighth position due to rising housing expenses and a decline in the popularity of remote work as more businesses adopt return-to-office policies.
Is the Sunshine State Still Attracting Homebuyers?
Following a number of devastating storms, Florida’s attraction has been further diminished by rising house insurance costs, which have made the state a less desirable location for out-of-state movers.
“Florida’s dramatic 93% drop in net migration compared to its 2022 peak reflects a market normalization after the pandemic-era relocation surge,” said Hannah Jones, Senior Economic Research Analyst at Realtor.com. “Higher home prices, rising insurance costs, hurricane risk, and the gradual return to in-office work have tempered the pace of inbound moves, shifting the state from breakneck growth to a more sustainable migration pattern.”
The founder of the real estate research company Analytics Miami and a Miami-based real estate agent, Ana Bozovic, emphasizes that although total migration to Florida has decreased, high-income domestic migration and foreign inflows are still strong during this post-pandemic transition.
“We see this reality reflected in the luxury and super prime segments, where transaction volume is at all time highs and still gaining steam,” Bozovic said.
The industry expert pointed out that a major factor in South Florida’s expansion is foreign buyers.
“Miami is evolving into a true global capital rather than simply a low-tax alternative, and it is still early days,” she said.
There is some good news for the third most populous state in the country despite the post-COVID slowdown. Tens of thousands of interstate workers have moved to new positions in the Miami metro area, according to a new analysis from Miami Realtors that parses data on job-to-job migrations from the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the most recent data available, the top states for interstate job migrants to Miami in 2024 were New York, Texas, Georgia, California, and New Jersey.
Miami Migration… on the Decline? Or on the Up?
The majority of the 55,244 immigrants to “Magic City,” at roughly 13%, were highly skilled and well-paid workers in professional, scientific, and technological professions, according to Gay Cororaton, Chief Economist at Miami Realtors. In contrast, the percentage of people with lesser incomes who moved to Miami during that time was only 6.8%, which was almost twice as high.
“Career alignment has replaced pandemic urgency. In 2020 through 2022, many relocations were reactive,” Bozovic said. “Today’s movers are strategic. Miami now has meaningful finance, tech, venture, and family office presence. Professionals are following institutional gravity rather than simply relocating due to post-pandemic pressures.”
According to Bozovic, Texas is an anomaly since, like Florida, it does not impose a state income tax, demonstrating that the recent migration surge is not solely motivated by taxation.
“Miami offers stronger international connectivity, particularly to Latin America and Europe, as well as a more globally integrated financial ecosystem,” Bozovic said. “It also offers something Texas real estate markets do not provide at scale: true waterfront lifestyle and a globally recognized trophy asset market. … In that sense, Texas movers are not tax refugees. They are lifestyle and network optimizers.”
According to the Census data research, the average transplant who moved to Miami from another state for work made over $101,000 annually in 2024. Conversely, those who relocated to Miami from any other part of Florida made a median yearly salary of little less than $62,000.
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