SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — People are leaving San Francisco.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact, people have been leaving metro areas in general in favor of larger properties in which to work from home. But San Francisco has topped the list for largest net outflow of homebuyers, along with other expensive coastal cities, according to data from real estate brokerage Redfin.
Data shows that in January, a total of 30,200 people looking to leave San Francisco. This is down from January 2022, which saw 41,500 homebuyers looking to leave.
Where are all of these San Franciscans going? A large majority of them are moving east to Sacramento or north to Seattle, according to Redfin data.
| Rank | Metro* | Net Outflow, Jan. 2023 | Net Outflow, Jan. 2022 | Portion of Local Users Searching Elsewhere | Top Destination | Top Out-of-State Destination |
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 30,200 | 41,500 | 26% | Sacramento, CA | Seattle, WA |
| 2 | Los Angeles, CA | 20,100 | 31,000 | 18% | Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas, NV |
| 3 | New York, NY | 19,800 | 19,700 | 27% | Miami, FL | Miami, FL |
| 4 | Washington, D.C. | 14,900 | 15,200 | 18% | Miami, FL | Miami, FL |
| 5 | Chicago, IL | 7,900 | 6,400 | 18% | Cape Coral, FL | Cape Coral, FL |
| 6 | Boston, MA | 5,600 | 9,400 | 20% | Portland, ME | Portland, ME |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | 3,400 | 19,000 | 19% | Phoenix, AZ | Phoenix, AZ |
| 8 | Denver, CO | 3,300 | 3,400 | 33% | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 9 | Hartford, CT | 2,400 | 600 | 74% | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| 10 | Detroit, MI | 1,400 | 250 | 25% | Grand Rapids, MI | Grand Rapids, MI |
But many are also flocking to coastal Florida, potentially due to larger, cheaper real estate, a warmer climate and lower taxes. The most popular destination is Miami, according to Redfin data.
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The southern Florida city saw a net influx of 7,200 homebuyers in January. This is also down from January 2022, which saw 11,400 homebuyers looking to move. Most of the migrants were looking from New York, according to Redfin data.
“A lot of buyers have flocked into coastal Florida from out of town over the last several months,” saidElena Fleck, a Redfin agent inthe Miami metro area, in the study. “Buyers moving in from places like New York andSan Franciscoare helping the local market recover from last fall’s housing downturn.”
| Rank | Metro* | Net Inflow, Jan. 2023 | Net Inflow, Jan. 2022 | Top Origin | Top Out-of-State Origin |
| 1 | Miami, FL | 7,200 | 11,400 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 2 | Sacramento, CA | 6,200 | 7,200 | San Francisco, CA | Chicago, IL |
| 3 | Las Vegas, NV | 5,700 | 6,900 | Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles, CA |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | 5,500 | 9,900 | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| 5 | Tampa, FL | 5,200 | 7,500 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 6 | Dallas, TX | 4,400 | 7,300 | Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles, CA |
| 7 | Cape Coral, FL | 4,200 | 5,500 | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 8 | Orlando, FL | 3,800 | 1,700 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| 9 | North Port-Sarasota, FL | 3,800 | 5,300 | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 10 | Houston, TX | 3,700 | 2,900 | New York, NY | New York, NY |
Four other Florida cities made the top 10 most popular moving destinations behind Miami including Tampa, Cape Coral, Orlando and Sarasota, as well as two metros in Texas and one in Nevada, all states that have no state income tax.
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Redfin’s data is based off of more than 2 million Redfin users who viewed for-sale homes online across more than 100 metro areas from November 2022 to January 2023. A Redfin.com user counts as a migrant if they viewed at least 10 for-sale homes in the third quarter and at least one of those homes was outside their home metro area.
