For 1st Time Since 1929, More Americans Left US Than New Residents Moved In

For the first time since the Great Depression, more Americans left the country than new residents moved in last year. The US, long known as the land of immigration, is seeing the opposite in its 250th year.

In 2025, the US had a net negative migration of about 150,000. Experts expect even more to leave the country in 2026. The total number of people moving into the country fell between 2.6 and 2.7 million in 2025, down from nearly 6 million in 2023, according to Brookings.

Specific concerns for Americans living abroad include violence, the high cost of living, and political instability. For some, Trump's re-election influenced their decision to leave.

Some commentators call the recent surge of Americans leaving the country the "Donald Dash" because it has grown during Trump's second term. Many Americans are attracted to European lifestyles that feel affordable and accessible.

Last year, the US deported 6.75 lakh people, and another 2.2 million left the country voluntarily. A Wall Street Journal analysis of 15 countries found that at least 1.8 lakh Americans moved abroad in 2025. There is no single complete data set, but the analysts estimate that 4 to 9 million Americans already live abroad.

Several Americans are buying apartments in Lisbon, Portugal. In Bali, Colombia, and Thailand, rising housing prices are driven by American remote workers. Over 1 lakh young Americans are studying abroad for cheaper degrees, and retirees are moving to Mexico for affordable nursing home care, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In 2022, Mexico had 1.6 million Americans, Canada had more than 250,000, and the UK had over 325,000 Americans.

Last month, a relocation company called Expatsi hosted a conference call about moving abroad, when nearly 400 Americans joined to learn how they could move to Albania. The Stalinist state is attracting attention because it offers easy residency and tax-free benefits for a year.

Expatsi founder Jen Barnett said, "Previously, the Americans leaving were super-adventurous and well-credentialed. Now they're ordinary people, like me. Our goal is to move one million Americans."

In 2025, Ireland welcomed 10,000 Americans, double the 2024 number. In addition to this, Americans are applying for British citizenship at the fastest rate since 2004, with 6,600 applications in the year ending March 2025. About 50,000 US-born Mexican Americans moved to Mexico last year for work.

Last fall, the number of international students coming to the US dropped by 17 per cent. At the same time, the number of Americans going to Europe for higher education has doubled since 2011. In the UK alone, this group grew by 14 per cent last year.

The last time the US saw more people leave than arrive was in 1935, when many Americans moved to the Soviet Union in search of work.