Americans Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers as Net Migration Turns Negative

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States is experiencing a rare demographic reversal, with more Americans leaving the country than moving in, a shift not seen since the Great Depression, according to a new report.

The U.S. recorded net negative migration in 2025, with an estimated population loss of about 150,000 people, based on calculations by the Brookings Institution. The outflow is expected to grow in 2026. Total in-migration fell sharply to between 2.6 million and 2.7 million last year, down from nearly 6 million in 2023, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.

A review of partial or complete 2025 data from 15 countries found that at least 180,000 Americans relocated abroad, with the final figure likely to be higher once all data is reported. There is no single dataset that fully captures the estimated 4 million to 9 million Americans already living outside the United States.

Mexico hosted an estimated 1.6 million Americans in 2022, according to State Department figures. Canada has more than 250,000 U.S. residents, while the United Kingdom is home to more than 325,000 Americans. More than 1.5 million Americans are now estimated to be living across Europe.

Portugal has seen one of the sharpest increases, with the number of American residents rising more than 500 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic, including a 36 percent increase in 2024 alone. Ireland welcomed about 10,000 Americans in 2025, roughly double the number from the previous year. More Americans moved to Germany last year than Germans moved to the United States, the report said.

Relocation firms say demand has surged. During a recent online seminar hosted by relocation company Expatsi, nearly 400 Americans signed up to learn how to move to Albania.

“Previously, the Americans leaving were super-adventurous and well-credentialed,” Expatsi founder Jen Barnett said. “Now they’re ordinary people, like me.” She said the company’s stated goal is to help one million Americans relocate abroad.

Some analysts have dubbed the trend the “Donald Dash,” noting that departures accelerated during President Donald Trump’s second term. However, observers say the movement has been building for years, driven by remote work options, rising living costs, and shifting lifestyle preferences.

A White House spokesperson countered that the U.S. economy is outperforming other developed nations, noting that the administration is deporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants while attracting wealthy foreign nationals, some paying up to $1 million for so-called “Gold Cards” to settle in the country.

The Department of Homeland Security reported 675,000 deportations and 2.2 million “self-deportations” in the past year.

Renunciations of U.S. citizenship are also rising. The government now faces a month-long backlog of Americans seeking to give up citizenship, either to obtain foreign passports or to avoid U.S. taxation on overseas income. Requests increased 48 percent in 2024 and are believed to have climbed further in 2025, according to immigration firms.

Relocation companies report that today’s migrants increasingly include families and mid-career professionals. Chris Ford, who moved to Berlin, cited safety and quality of life as key factors. “You don’t face the prospect of your 5-year-old going into a kindergarten and doing an active shooter drill,” he said. “The wages are higher in the U.S., but the quality of life is higher in Europe.”

Officials in Spain have acknowledged the trend. “Many Americans come, and there are many love stories,” said Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz Delgado. “After four glasses of wine, they stay.”

Education patterns are also shifting. International student enrollment in the United States fell 17 percent last autumn and is expected to decline further, while more Americans are enrolling in European universities. Applications for British citizenship reached 6,600 in the year ending March 2025. Irish passports issued to Americans totaled 31,825 in 2024 and are estimated to have reached 40,000 last year.

“In Albania, you can very easily right now survive on $1,000 a month,” said Kelly McCoy, who moved from New York state and now advises Americans considering relocation.

The last time more people left the United States than moved in was in 1935, when Americans sought work abroad during the Great Depression. Census records describe that period as one of the few times in history when the U.S. became a nation of net emigration. (Source: IANS)