The Carolinas Are Moving to the Center of America’s Migration Map
North and South Carolina have become the fastest-growing states in the nation by domestic migration, attracting new residents from across the country. Their diverse mix of urban centers and coastal communities underpins this significant population surge.
Jobs, development, business, housing and growth stories from across the Sun Belt.
For years, Florida and Texas dominated the story of Americans moving south. The latest numbers suggest the map is becoming more complicated.
South Carolina and North Carolina ranked first and second in the country for inbound moving interest in August, according to new search data from moveBuddha. At the same time, the most recent official Census estimates show North Carolina gaining more residents from other states than anywhere else in the country, while South Carolina became the nation’s fastest-growing state.
Together, the numbers point to a migration shift that is increasingly difficult to dismiss as a one-month curiosity.
In August, South Carolina recorded 176 searches for moves into the state for every 100 searches out. North Carolina was nearly tied at 174 inbound searches for every 100 outbound, according to moveBuddha’s August 2026 moving analysis.
The two Carolinas together accounted for 26.6% of all net inbound searches in the company’s data, almost exactly matching Florida’s 26.7% share on their own.
That does not mean more Americans actually moved to the Carolinas than Florida in August. The figures come from people using a moving-cost calculator, not completed address changes.
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But the official population data show that something substantial is already happening.
North Carolina led the country in domestic migration
Between July 2024 and July 2025, North Carolina gained about 84,000 more residents from other U.S. states than it lost to them.
That was the largest net domestic-migration gain of any state, according to the latest Census estimates summarized by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. Texas gained about 67,000 and South Carolina about 66,600.
North Carolina’s total population rose by nearly 146,000 people during the year, reaching about 11.2 million. Its 1.3% growth rate ranked third nationally.
The August moving searches suggest that interest has not disappeared. North Carolina climbed from sixth place in July to second in August in moveBuddha’s inbound-to-outbound rankings.
And unlike a migration spike driven primarily by a single retirement or vacation market, the interest was spread across several communities.
Wilmington recorded 2.20 inbound searches for every outbound search. Raleigh was at 1.67, Charlotte at 1.61 and Cary at 3.00. Six North Carolina cities with sufficient search volume had more inbound than outbound interest, the largest number for any state in the August data.
Searches for moves into North Carolina came most frequently from California, followed by Florida, Texas, New York and New Jersey.
That mix is notable because it suggests North Carolina is drawing potential newcomers from several very different parts of the country rather than relying on one migration corridor.
South Carolina is growing even faster
South Carolina’s story is slightly different. It is much smaller than North Carolina, but proportionally it is growing faster than any other state.
The population reached approximately 5.57 million in 2025 after adding nearly 80,000 residents in a year. The 1.5% increase was the highest percentage growth in the United States, according to the Census Bureau’s latest state population estimates.
Domestic migration supplied most of that growth, adding 66,622 more residents than the state lost to other parts of the country.
The newest moving searches put South Carolina first nationally for the second consecutive month.
Myrtle Beach was the clearest standout in August, recording more than eight inbound searches for every outbound search among qualifying cities. Greenville also remained strongly inbound.
South Carolina has now spent years near the top of private moving-company and relocation rankings, but the Census numbers give that reputation more weight: this is no longer simply a state people say they are considering. Its population is actually expanding at the fastest rate in the country.
Florida is still enormous, but its migration story has changed
None of this means Florida has suddenly stopped attracting newcomers. In fact, Florida still generated more net inbound move searches than any state in August. It accounted for 26.7% of net inbound demand in moveBuddha’s data, ahead of Texas at 17.9%, North Carolina at 17.1% and South Carolina at 9.5%.
But the official Census data reveal a significant change beneath that continued interest.
Florida gained only 22,517 residents through net domestic migration between July 2024 and July 2025.
That was down from 183,646 in 2023 and 310,892 in 2022. Florida, once routinely at or near the top of the national rankings for domestic migration, fell to eighth place.
Florida still added nearly 197,000 residents overall during the year and remained the second-largest state for total numeric population growth, behind Texas. International migration also remained a major source of Florida’s growth.
Florida remains a huge destination. What has changed is the scale at which Americans already living elsewhere in the country are moving there. That is where the Carolinas increasingly stand out.
The migration boom is spreading across different kinds of places
North and South Carolina offer a range of destinations that do not fit neatly into one category.
Charlotte and Raleigh are large employment centers. Cary represents the affluent suburban growth surrounding Raleigh and Research Triangle Park. Wilmington and Myrtle Beach offer coastal lifestyles. Greenville has developed into a growing smaller metropolitan center.
That variety may help explain why migration into the region can continue even when one housing market or demographic group cools.
North Carolina, for example, is simultaneously attracting workers into major urban economies, families into fast-growing suburbs and people seeking smaller cities or coastal communities.
South Carolina combines booming coastal areas with growing inland metros.
The two states are also sufficiently close that their growth increasingly functions as a regional phenomenon. Charlotte’s metropolitan area crosses the North Carolina-South Carolina border, while economic and residential growth along the Carolinas’ interstate corridors is steadily connecting once-separate communities.
Search data offer an early look, not a final count
The August numbers should still be treated carefully. moveBuddha measures searches submitted through its Moving Cost Calculator. Someone comparing a move from New York to Raleigh may never actually make that move.
Monthly rankings can also swing sharply. Kansas, for example, went from the country’s second-ranked destination state in July to an outbound state in August.
The reason the Carolinas are more interesting is that the search data now line up with official population estimates.
North Carolina led the nation in net domestic migration. South Carolina led it in percentage population growth. And as summer ended, the two states occupied the top two positions in one of the newest measures of where Americans are considering moving next.
The next round of Census estimates will show how many of those searches eventually became actual moves.
If you’ve been following growth and change around here, these stories are worth a look too.
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