Down Arrow Icon: Tips & Best Practices
- Six years after the pandemic dramatically altered where Americans live, the movement away from expensive coastal cities continues - and now includes a surprising new destination: Miami.
- Data from the fourth quarter of 2025 indicates miami and Los Angeles suffered the largest population losses of any major U.S.
- Miami's outgoing mayor,Francis Suarez,expressed concern in October about the likely election of Zohran Mamdani in New york,but also admitted "definitely a gentrification happening" in his own city.Affordability became...
Sunbelt Boomtowns now Facing Exodus
Six years after the pandemic dramatically altered where Americans live, the movement away from expensive coastal cities continues – and now includes a surprising new destination: Miami. A January 2026 report from the Bank of America Institute shows people are still leaving new York and Los Angeles in large numbers, but Miami is now experiencing equally significant population declines.
Data from the fourth quarter of 2025 indicates miami and Los Angeles suffered the largest population losses of any major U.S. city, both in total numbers and year-over-year. While Florida initially attracted remote workers during the early 2020s, that trend is reversing. Miami recorded the steepest year-over-year percentage drop in population among the major metropolitan areas tracked by the bank.
Miami’s outgoing mayor,Francis Suarez,expressed concern in October about the likely election of Zohran Mamdani in New york,but also admitted “definitely a gentrification happening” in his own city.Affordability became a central issue in Miami’s mayoral race, leading to the election of Eileen Higgins as the city’s first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years. Miami currently ranks highest on UBS Global Wealth Management’s “global real estate bubble index,” with Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New york also appearing on the list.
Austin, Denver, and Philadelphia are seeing the biggest gains in new residents as the affordability crisis spreads. The Bank of America Institute also noted a resurgence in the Midwest,with Indianapolis and Columbus leading in absolute population growth.
Affordability Crisis Hits the sunbelt
The main reason for this shift seems to be the same one that drove people from city centers in 2020: the desire for more affordable living. “Affordability and climate”