A striking new poll from Gallup reveals a significant and growing desire among Americans to permanently leave the United States, with young women leading this demographic shift at an unprecedented rate.
Record Numbers Look Abroad
The survey, conducted over the past two years, found that one in five Americans now say they would like to emigrate. This figure has nearly doubled since Gallup first began asking the question in 2008, marking the highest level of desire to leave in the past two decades.
A Stark Gender Divide Among the Young
The most compelling data emerges when examining age and gender. The poll identifies a profound gap between young men and women. While only 19 per cent of men aged 15 to 44 expressed a desire to leave their homeland, a staggering 40 per cent of women in the same age group said they would like to go. This means young women are more than twice as likely to want to emigrate as their male counterparts.
This trend among younger women first showed a decisive rise in 2016 and peaked at 44 per cent in the final year of President Joe Biden's term. Although the figure has slightly decreased from that high, it remains significantly elevated compared to the 29 per cent recorded in 2023.
Canada: The Dream Destination
For those young American women looking abroad, Canada stands as the clear top choice. Since 2022, 11 per cent have named Canada as their preferred destination for a permanent move. This places the Great White North well ahead of other popular choices like New Zealand, Italy, and Japan, which each garnered only five per cent.
Gallup is careful to note that its question measures a desire to migrate, not concrete plans or intentions. "Still, the data indicate that millions of younger American women are increasingly imagining their futures elsewhere," the report states, highlighting a significant shift in perspective.
The gender disparity is not as pronounced among older Americans, though a gap still exists. Only eight per cent of men aged 45 and older want to leave, compared to 14 per cent of women in that demographic.
An Unprecedented American Phenomenon
This specific gender gap among young people appears to be a uniquely American issue. Gallup reports that it has never seen a similar divide in any other country it has surveyed over the same period.
In fact, across 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the percentage of younger women who want to migrate has remained relatively steady, typically averaging between 20 and 30 per cent. For much of the late 2000s and early 2010s, younger women in the U.S. were actually less likely to want to move than their international peers, a situation that has now dramatically reversed.
