Women’s desire to leave US has surged from 10% in 2014 to 40% in 2025, poll finds
WASHINGTON, DC: The number of young American women wanting to leave the US has quadrupled over the past decade.
In 2025, four in ten women aged 15 to 44 said they would move abroad permanently if they could, up from just 10% in 2014, when their desire to emigrate matched that of other age and gender groups.
What does the data say about US women’s desire to move abroad in 2025?
Gallup asked US adults on November 13, “If you had the opportunity, would you like to move PERMANENTLY to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?”
In 2025, about 20% of US adults said they wanted to move permanently. Forty percent of women aged 15 to 44 said they would move abroad if they could, compared with 19% of men in the same age group. Among older adults, 14% of women over 45 and 8% of men over 45 wanted to leave the US permanently.
The desire to migrate among younger women first surged in 2016, the final year of Barack Obama’s second term. Gallup surveyed Americans in June and July, after both parties had selected their presumptive nominees for the November election, which Donald Trump eventually won.
The trend continued to rise, reaching 44% in Joe Biden’s final year in office and remaining near that level in 2025, indicating a broader shift in opinion among younger women, not just a partisan reaction.
The sharp rise in younger women wanting to leave has created a wide gender gap. Today, 40% of younger women say they want to move abroad, compared with just 19% of younger men, a 21-point gap, the largest Gallup has ever recorded on this trend.
Political views drive Americans’ migration interest
Political views, along with age and gender, shape Americans’ desire to leave the US. In 2025, Americans who disapproved of the country’s leadership were 25 points more likely to want to migrate than those who approved.
Migration aspirations were not always so politically divided. Between 2008 and 2016, Americans’ desire to move abroad was similar regardless of their views on national leadership.
After Donald Trump’s election, the divide widened. In 2017, the gap between those who approved and disapproved of the president exceeded 10 points for the first time.
During Trump’s first term, the difference averaged 14 points. Under Joe Biden, the gap narrowed to eight points, then climbed to 25 points in 2025, the first year of Trump’s second term.
Younger women’s stronger alignment with the Democratic Party helps explain part of this trend. In 2025, 59% of women aged 18 to 44 identified as or leaned Democratic, compared with 39% of younger men, 53% of older women, and 37% of older men.
Between 2024 and 2025, about two in five younger women said they would move abroad permanently if they could, 41% of married women and 45% of single women. This narrow gap by marital status is the smallest Gallup has recorded since it began asking the question, suggesting younger married women increasingly see marriage as no barrier to migration.
