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Internal Migration in the USA

Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley
6 min readDec 23, 2024

Why do Americans leave California, New York, and other cities in the United States for new locations? Let’s delve into the economic and social factors driving this internal migration.

This is internal migration within the United States of America, not migration to other nations, particularly the English-speaking world and Europe.

(Here is my behind the paywall link.)

People have been migrating for better economic prosperity or to escape persecution and seek a better life in the United States since the 17th century. We’ve seen waves of immigration from war-torn Europe, particularly the English, who exported their religious extremists to the North American continent.

People often uproot their lives and move to new locations to pursue economic prosperity and the promise of a brighter future. A classic example is the gold rush that drew people to California in the late 19th century.

Today, America is witnessing a significant wave of internal migration, with over 600,000 people leaving California and New York in 2022. This trend is reshaping the country’s economic and social landscape.

Photo by Michael Discenza on Unsplash

Americans Jumping Ship to New Locations

In recent years, of 88 United States cities with a population of over 250,000, 77 have experienced a shrinkage of the…

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Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley
Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley

Written by Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley

I have been writing from 2014 to the present day; my writing is focused on history, politics, culture, geopolitics and other related topics.

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