With an impact to the moving industry, new government data shows that some of the laregst metropolitan areas in the United States are shrinking as a result of a slowdown in immigration and people leaving.
The Wall Street Journal reported that according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Miami all saw population declines during the year through June 2025. New York also contracted for the first time in three years, although its much larger metro area increased. In that same period, 83 of the nation’s 387 metro areas decreased, up from 52 the prior year.
The leading reason was a nationwide drop in immigration to the country, which has relied on arrivals to grow, along with 40% of the metropolitan areas having more deaths than births. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the United States saw 675,000 deportations in the first year of President Trump’s second administration.
In positive news for the moving industry, more than 60% of metropolitan areas saw gains from people relocating around the country. Among those growing at four times the national rate or more were Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Ocala, Florida; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; Boise, Idaho; and St. George, Utah.
In terms of international moves, as reported recently by IAM, the United States experienced net negative migration, with a loss of some 150,000 people last year according to the public-policy think tank, Brookings Institution, which predicts that the trend will likely increase in 2026.