Flood-Prone Areas of U.S. Lost More Residents Than They Gained in 2025

Seattle, WA, June 24, 2026—Flood-prone America lost far more residents than it gained in 2025, continuing and intensifying a trend that started in 2024, reports Redfin.

High-flood-risk U.S. counties lost 63,357 more residents than they gained in 2025. That’s nearly double the net outflow from the year before. In 2024–the first time in five years flood-prone counties posted a net outflow–34,099 more people moved out than in.

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 U.S. Census Bureau (excludes immigration) and climate-risk scores from First Street. Redfin defines a high-risk county as one that ranks in the top 10% when it comes to the share of homes facing high flood risk—in other words, counties with 23.7% to 99.1% of homes facing high risk. Migration data for 2025 covers July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025. A “net outflow” measures how many more people moved out of than into an area, while a “net inflow” measures how many more people moved in than out. 

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. For example, 2024’s Hurricane Milton devastated properties across much of coastal Florida. 
• Factors other than climate, such as soaring home prices and politics. Soaring housing costs have driven some residents out of flood-prone places; in Naples, FL, for instance, home prices have nearly doubled since just before the pandemic, and in Miami, they’re up 65%. 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. “I’ve worked with a lot of house hunters who were searching in Miami from out of town, then they completely backed out. Most of them realized it’s much more expensive to live here than they thought because of flood risk and sky-high insurance premiums. Coupled with high mortgage rates, the expense is through the roof.”