Redfin Reports Flood-Prone Parts of America Are Losing Residents at Nearly Twice Last Year’s Rate
- High-flood-risk
U.S . counties lost over 63,000 more residents than they gained in 2025—nearly double the prior year’s outflow - Counties at low risk of flooding gained nearly 70,000 residents last year, the biggest uptick since 2018
Miami andHouston top the list of flood-prone places that lost the most residents in 2025
High-flood-risk
The opposite trend is happening in places at low risk of flooding. Low-flood-risk counties gained 69,857 more people than they lost last year—the biggest gain since 2018.
This is based on a Redfin analysis of domestic migration data from the
The significant uptick in movement away from flood-prone places suggests that concerns about flooding and climate are beginning to reshape where Americans choose to settle. While high-flood-risk counties are losing residents, lower-risk counties are seeing strong population gains, indicating that more movers may be prioritizing climate resilience and relative safety in their relocation decisions.
Several forces are likely driving residents away from flood-prone parts of America:
- Increasing climate risks. Repeated flooding and stronger storms have increased the physical and financial risks of living in vulnerable communities, particularly in coastal and low-lying regions.
- Rising cost of homeownership in flood-prone places. Homeowners in high-risk counties are facing rising insurance premiums, higher repair costs and, in some cases, difficulty obtaining or renewing flood coverage altogether. Soaring HOA dues in places that are particularly prone to climate disasters are also a factor.
- Those pressures have been compounded by the rising cost of homeownership more broadly. Buyers are weighing long-term climate risks when deciding where to move, and many appear to be choosing areas where the threat of flooding—and the costs associated with it—are lower.
- Reduced community appeal of flood-prone areas. Frequent disasters can also disrupt local economies, damage infrastructure and reduce property values, making flood-prone communities less attractive places to live over time.
- Destroyed or damaged homes. In some flood-prone counties, thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged by recent hurricanes, prompting people to move away.
- Factors other than climate, such as soaring home prices and politics. Soaring housing costs have driven some residents out of flood-prone places. And Redfin agents have said some people who moved to
Florida during the pandemic are now leaving because they don’t like the state’s politics.
“If you don’t live here and you’re thinking of moving here, hurricane risk is top of mind,” said Kyle Kleinman, a Redfin agent in
Miami Leads List of Flood-Prone Places Losing Residents
Notably,
In all but two of these counties, net outflow accelerated in 2025 from 2024. The exceptions are
“Climate risk is becoming a more important factor when Americans weigh the costs and benefits of living in a certain place,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “Repeated disruptions and damage from extreme weather are making it more expensive—and less predictable—to own homes and live in the most flood-prone parts of the country. It’s becoming more common for natural disasters to cost homeowners money in the form of rising insurance premiums and repairs. When people’s bank accounts take a hit, they’re more likely to genuinely consider living in a less risky place—or reconsider a move to a risky place.”
Climate Risk Is a Top Reason Americans Are Moving This Year: Redfin Survey
Climate risk is one of the top reasons Americans are looking to move, according to a Redfin survey conducted by Ipsos in May 2026.
The survey asked roughly 1,000
Respondents could choose from 29 possible reasons; concern for natural disasters was the fourth-most common reason. The only more commonly cited answers were “want more space,” “upgrade to a better home or neighborhood,” “lower overall cost of living,” and “concern for safety/crime.” Concern for natural disasters ranked higher than every other option, including “to be with or nearer to family” and “move for a new job or job relocation.”
Among people planning to move out of state in the next 12 months, one in five (
And among people who have experienced a climate disaster and plan to move in the next 12 months,
A Look Back: America’s Flood-Prone Counties Have Gone From Attracting Residents to Making Them Think Twice
Looking back, America’s flood-prone counties gained residents from 2011, as far back as Redfin’s records go, to 2016.
The trend reversed the next year, when flood-prone places started losing residents, partly because 2017 and 2018 were two of the most destructive hurricane seasons in history. Hurricane Harvey in
The next sea change happened in 2020, when the pandemic’s record-low mortgage rates and remote work culture motivated many Americans to move to the Sun Belt, especially
Some Flood-Prone Areas Are Still Gaining More People Than They Are Losing
Among the 310 high-flood-risk counties Redfin analyzed, 128 saw more people move out than move in. The remaining 182 high-risk counties experienced net inflows. Many of the high-risk counties that saw net inflows are in
In
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Note that the high-risk counties that gained residents experienced much smaller inflows than the outflows seen by the counties that lost residents. The county with the most outflow,
The flood-prone places that gained residents are also generally more affordable than the places that lost them, and that affordability can outweigh climate risks for residents and people looking to move in. For instance, in three of the counties that lost the most residents—Kings County, NY (Brooklyn),
To view the full report, including charts, additional metro-level data and a methodology, please visit: redfin.com/news/climate-migration-real-estate-2026
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Source: Redfin