From the Heartland to New Horizons: Where Iowans Are Moving

It happens, people move. They move for work, family, retirement a fresh start... any combination of those things. While Iowa is growing in population, even at a slower rate than the national average, people still leave.

But when people exit the Hawkeye State, where do they typically go?

Recently, we looked at where most people are coming from when they move to Iowa. So today, we'll go in the opposite direction to see where (former) Iowans move.

States Taking in the Most Iowans

When someone moves, it's often not alone. Married couples with kids, or even just a twosome is quite common. For a lot of natives of any state who move, it's often for college, or a job fresh out of college. My two sisters-in-law, both native Iowans, each moved to Minnesota for jobs

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It may not surprise you at all that most people who leave Iowa do not leave the Midwest.

So where are former Iowans going? We have the top 40 states they move to, thanks to information compiled by Stacker, listed down below. Of the 49 other U.S. states, we have the top 40 that Iowans head to when they leave.

As you'll see, and as I mentioned above, most people stay in the Midwest when they leave. That was similar to our list of what states send the most people to Iowa.

The first non-Midwestern state Iowans move to is, probably unsurprisingly, Florida. Arizona is also in the top 10. These are the two biggest states Midwesterners snowbird or move to after retiring.

Let's take a look at where Iowans go when they say "farewell" to the Hawkeye State!