510K people left Florida last year: These were their top destinations

(NEXSTAR) — While Florida frequently ranks among the best places to live — whether for first-time home buyers , retirees , or anyone in between — it saw its fair share of residents leave in 2023, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Many of those ex-Floridians didn’t go far, however.

According to the latest state-by-state migration data, more than 510,000 people packed up their things and left the Sunshine State in 2023.

In 2022, Florida lost nearly 490,000 residents, the fourth-highest of any state. This year, only California experienced a larger exodus at 690,000.

As it was last year, Georgia was the top-receiving state of former Floridians at just over 55,000.

Other popular options for moving Florida residents were Texas (50,500 people), North Carolina (39,900), Virginia (24,700), and New York (24,700). South Dakota and Montana were the least likely landing spots for ex-Sunshine State residents, receiving roughly 630 residents each.

This may not be much of a surprise: Florida ranked as the state that saw the second-most movers in 2023, U-Haul data released earlier this year found .

Earlier this year, NBC News spoke with Barb Carter, who moved to Florida, only to leave a year later for Kansas. At the time, she said an expensive armadillo infestation, a hurricane , problems finding a doctor, and the political climate led to her decision.

“So many people ask, ‘Why would you move back to Kansas?’ I tell them all the same thing — you’ve got to take your vacation goggles off,” Carter told NBC . “For me, it was very falsely promoted. Once living there, I thought, you know, this isn’t all you guys have cracked this up to be, at all.”

Others who spoke with NBC expressed similar concerns while also citing rising insurance costs . A recent survey by Redfin found nearly a quarter of respondents expect their insurance premiums to rise following the damages caused by Hurricane Helene. The survey was conducted before Hurricane Milton.

Despite losing nearly 500,000 people last year, however, Florida experienced a net positive migration thanks to nearly 637,000 people moving into the state, the Census determined.

That’s far less than the 740,000 who relocated to Florida in 2022, but the largest influx of any state. Texas was close behind at almost 612,000 new residents.

For both states, the largest groups of newest residents — 45% for Florida, 43% for Texas — moved in from another country . The data, collected from the annual American Community Survey, does not specify which countries the new Floridians and Texans formerly resided in.

Florida received the largest influx of newest residents from New York at 71,000, followed by Georgia (44,500), California (39,000), Texas (37,000), and New Jersey (33,000).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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