Greener Living

Americans Are Moving Out of Flood-Prone Neighborhoods

After seeing an influx of residents during the pandemic, some the riskiest counties are now losing residents.

A view of damaged homes affected by Hurricane Helene near Keaton Beach, Florida in October 2024. 

Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The American neighborhoods with the highest risk of floods are again losing residents.

For the first time since 2019, high-risk counties lost domestic residents, with 30,000 more people relocating to other places in the country than moved in, according to a new Redfin report. It's a sharp reversal from the pandemic years, when remote workers flocked to coastal areas and Sun Belt cities. Some of those counties, however, still had a total increase in population as immigration from overseas remained strong.