NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Data from the U.S. Census Bureau has provided some insight about destination states for Tennesseans.
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The 2023 American Community Survey collected data from households across the U.S. and found that about 180,000 people left the state in 2023. The ten most popular destination states were:
| State | Estimated Number of TN Residents | Margin of Error |
| Georgia | 17,332 | 3,909 |
| Florida | 15,663 | 4,024 |
| Kentucky | 14,444 | 2,818 |
| Mississippi | 13,818 | 4,678 |
| Alabama | 12,640 | 2,750 |
| Texas | 12,068 | 3,617 |
| Virginia | 8,915 | 2,396 |
| North Carolina | 7,905 | 1,880 |
| California | 5,343 | 1,931 |
| South Carolina | 5,304 | 1,808 |
Montana, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Alaska and Vermont were the least popular destination states and U.S. territories for Tennesseans, collectively only seeing an estimated 1,130 residents move from the Volunteer State.
Georgia and Florida swapped places compared to data from 2022, with Texas, Kentucky and Alabama rounding out the top five based on previous data from the U.S. Census Bureau.