Which States Google Moving Abroad Most—And Where Do They Dream of Going?

A third of Americans say they’d like to move abroad (62% of Gen Z) — and their Google searches prove it.

In early 2025, citizenship renunciations jumped 102%, while applications for visas and residency in France, Ireland, and the UK hit record highs.

Today, international move consultants say that the “majority of [their] clients” are Americans heading out — a novel phenomenon for a nation more accustomed to seeing outsiders want to move in.

So, who is most interested in leaving America right now? We analyzed Google Trends data to map each state’s emigration curiosity: who’s venting, who’s researching, who’s already decided — and where they want to go.

Key Takeaways

• Often, geography predicts destination. Vermonters search Canada, Hawaiians eye Japan/Thailand, and Floridians look to Costa Rica—each seeking familiar climates and cultures.
• The South searches most about leaving—but it’s Oklahoma that leads all states in “leave America” searches, followed by New Mexico, South Carolina, Iowa, and Alabama.
• Blue states do the homework. While red states vent more, blue states dominate practical searches about healthcare, retirement, and visa requirements abroad.
• The Pacific Northwesterners know where they want to go. Oregon and Washington lead in decisive searches for specific countries.

The Countries Each State Googles About Moving To More Than Anywhere Else

While Google searches don’t equal plane tickets, they reveal the geography of American restlessness.

Overall, most Americans are searching for just a few familiar, high-quality-of-life countries for their potential international moves. The search volume across the nation is highest for moves to Canada, the UK, Japan, and Portugal.

But which countries do states adore most disproportionately, and far more than most other Americans?

It turns out those states are looking for international moves that bring a touch of home with them: Vermonters aren’t giving up their maple syrup. They are searching for Canada with more interest than any other state. Floridians, meanwhile, set their sights on Costa Rica’s sun and sand.

Ultimately, as other countries prepare for the next round of visa applications, they’ll likely see some state residents flood their shores more than others.

The European Dream: Health Care, Trains, Open Borders

France, England, Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland dominate many searches. In fact, England and France are the two destinations with the highest relative search volume across all searches analyzed.

For many Americans, European quality of life, healthcare, free travel, and culture can mean that searchers don’t have strong feelings about moving to one country over another.

This cluster is prevalent in Texas, New York, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Alabama.

Canadian Comfort: Close & Friendly

Canada is one of the most consistently searched move-to destinations abroad nationwide.

It offers cultural familiarity, shared language (for most), and geographic proximity. Add in universal healthcare, political stability, and a reputation for friendliness, and it becomes a natural “first step abroad” for many Americans. For states with similar climates—like Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin —the northern neighbor feels like an extension of home.

Lifestyle Escape: Costa Rica & Thailand

Together, these countries capture a lifestyle-driven mindset: the search for warmth, relaxation, and adventure in places where daily life feels like an escape.

In Costa Rica, searches may be seeking a new home base with similar linguistic and religious cultures, remote-worker-friendly time zones, and well-developed expat communities, or all of the above. This cluster is prevalent in warm-weather states like Florida, New Mexico, and Arizona as well as Maryland and Virginia.

Thailand represents a more adventurous leap—affordable, culturally vibrant, and distinctly different. States like South Carolina, Nevada, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska are searching here relatively more than others.

What do Japan, New Zealand, and Switzerland have in common?

These three developed economic giants are also correlated in the minds of searchers. And perhaps they do represent a similar expat mindset: all three ooze natural beauty, from ski slopes to glacial valleys. They’re also known for their stability and safety.

This pattern is most prominent in states like Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. They’re states with outdoorsy cultures and Pacific connections themselves, so it makes sense that their residents look West or to other mountain landscapes.

Oklahoma and the South Are Googling “Move Abroad” and “Leave America”

The Dust Bowl once sent “Okies” fleeing in search of opportunity. That pattern has returned.

Of all Americans, Oklahomans are most likely to be searching 9 terms associated with exit intent—impulsive Google searches like “move abroad.”

These Americans may not yet know where they’re heading, or what their priorities are in the process, so they’re searching terms such as “move overseas,” “moving out of the U.S.,” and “move to [a] different country.”

Oklahomans are typical would-be beginning-stage emigrés, as Southerners are the most likely Americans to be searching for the general topics around international exits. The average Southerner is about 44% more likely than those in New England to type, “Move abroad” into their search engine.

#3 South Carolina and #5 Alabama also contribute to the South’s high international move interest. All three states present an interesting phenomenon; they’re some of the nation’s more popular move destinations, but they’re also spots where residents are highly open to leaving the country.

There’s no statistical difference between those exploring emigration and the 2024 election leanings of their state. Other factors, like urbanization, income, cost of living, education levels, and, of course, the politics of the searchers themselves, are likely behind these searches along with their states of residence.

Blue States (and Oklahomans) Search “Visa Requirements” and “Best Countries for Retirement”

Oklahomans aren’t just venting—they’re doing their homework. The same state that leads in frustration searches also tops the nation in practical research.

Not far behind is Colorado, where residents are more interested in the “easiest countries to move to” than any other Americans, and the District of Columbia, leading the country in “work abroad” searches.

These searchers are further along in the journey to move away, as they’re considering factors that might make some destinations more promising than others, and honing their top choices.

Here, the political split becomes statistically significant: States voting for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election make these practical searches more often.

They look up affordability, quality of life, retirement, healthcare, and work-abroad rules. Those searches make it more likely they’ll follow through on an eventual relocation to a specific place, rather than simply venting their emotional frustration to Google.

Still, not every venting state graduates to deeper research. Many with high exit intent — like New Mexico, Iowa, and South Carolina — never cross into this research stage.

Oregon and Washington Zero In With “Move to New Zealand” and “Move to Portugal”

At the bottom of the funnel are searchers who are looking at the requirements of a specific country and already have a destination in mind.

They’re sold.

Instead of searching for “how to move abroad,” they’re exploring “move to Ireland,” “move to Italy,” or “move to Australia.” This is often a later stage of the Google journey, when they’ve already completed research on the best countries for them.

They’re translating that knowledge into a plan to move abroad.

Oregon and Washington, in the Pacific Northwest, lead the pack. Oregonians search for their country of choice 38% more than the national average, and they lead the country in searches about how to “move to New Zealand.” The Mountain West isn’t far behind, with Colorado and New Mexico also appearing in the top 5.

The only thing left? Booking the moving company.

But knowing who is most intent on leaving is only half the picture.

The next question is: where are they planning to go? Once Americans move past the “should I leave?” stage, their searches shift toward specific destinations.

We All Explore Moving Abroad, But Blue Staters Do More Comparing, and Just a Few of Us Plan the Specifics

Within every state, there are individuals searching for ways to leave the U.S. There are those at the very beginning of journeys that may never be taken, typing, “Move to a different country,” and hoping a helpful answer appears.

And there are fewer searchers who will go on to research a move.

When they do, a political rift appears.

Blue states average higher search interest than red staters on most evaluative move abroad issues, like work abroad, healthcare, and retirement.

Oklahoma presents a paradox: a deep-red state that bucks the trend by combining red-state venting with blue-state-level research. While their neighbors in Texas and Alabama stop at ‘leave America’ searches, Oklahomans dig into healthcare systems and visa requirements too.

When searchers arrive at the final planning stage, where the fewest Americans take the plunge, the political tides in their respective states ebb again. In these searches, factors such as regional culture, outdoor lifestyle, and affordability come to the forefront.

By the time searchers have made their decision, they’re no longer “just” red staters or blue staters: they’re black diamond adventurers, Pacific Rim natives, beach bums, Spanish speakers, remote workers, culture nerds, and myriad other categories.

One thing’s for certain: searches to leave America aren’t confined to red or blue states. And ultimately, where we choose to move speaks volumes about all of our identities, not just our political ones.

Methodology

We analyzed Google Trends data for terms related to moving out of the U.S., from “move out of country” to “move abroad,” “move to Canada,” and “easiest countries to move to,” aggregating results by state (and the District of Columbia).

Google Trends data is measured in proportion of all a state’s queries, making it a good fit for per capita comparisons.

We further categorized searches into 3 categories:

1. Exit Intent: Generic Move Out of the Country Searches

These 9 search terms included general inquiries about moving out of the country, moving abroad, leaving America, and how to move to a different country.

2. Destination Vetting: Evaluating and Comparing Options

These 8 search terms centered on more in-depth inquiries that suggested real investment in deciding on a destination. They included search terms like “easiest countries to move to,” “best countries for healthcare,” “best countries for expats,” “best countries for retirement,” and “best countries for quality of life.”

3. Moving to Country: Specific Where to Move to Searches

This category is for searchers who have chosen a specific destination and are seeking logistic information on the process of moving there. It’s dry information for non-movers, and instead suggests searchers are on the cusp of a move abroad. The 15 search terms in this category included “move to Canada,” “move to Europe,” “cost of living in France,” etc.

Search terms in each category were weighed to reflect relevance and scored separately.

There was no “overall” score in this study.

State-by-State: The Top Countries Americans Google Moving To

Finally, we input 12 top move-to countries (with substantial search volume) into Google Trends and evaluated their popularity in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to compare the states where those top countries’ move inquiries originated.

The Google Trends data used in this article was analyzed on September 18, 2025.

State rankings (below) reflect relative search interest by state. In cases of a tie, multiple countries may appear in the same rank.