- A Gallup poll found 40% of U.S. women ages 15-44 want to permanently leave the country.
- The majority prefer Canada, reflecting historical U.S. emigration patterns.
- Low confidence in government institutions correlates with the desire to leave the U.S.
A new Gallup poll shows more Americans would like to leave the U.S. permanently than at most other points when the question has been asked in the last 18 years. And young women and girls are especially prone to say they’d like to move, at more than 4 in 10.
Gallup said the trend has been upward for a while, but it has become increasingly politicized since 2017, “surging to unprecedented levels in recent years.”
Where would they go? The most popular choice is Canada, which aligns with historic emigration trends.
The survey was published Nov. 13 and found that 40% of females ages 15 to 44 said they would leave the country permanently if they could. Marital status doesn’t make much difference: 45% of single women and 41% of married women in that age group said they’d like to move permanently to another country.
Among all in the U.S. who took the survey, the number was 21%. And among young males in that age category, just 19% said they’d like to leave permanently. In those older than 45, 16% of women and 8% of men said they would move from the U.S.
In 2024, the number in the young age category was even higher, at 44%, which was a steep jump from the 29% who said it in 2023.
In 2014, the number was 10% and that response by women and girls was close to what younger males and other age groups said. The question was first asked by Gallup in 2007 — and it asks it of people in more than 160 countries. The U.S. response, however, is the largest gender gap anywhere.
Behind Canada, top choices for where the American females would relocate are New Zealand, Italy and Japan.
And Gallup emphasizes that the poll asks about desire to leave, not plans to leave.
What’s driving discontent?
Politics seems to be at least partially responsible for the responses. Gallup reported that among those who approve of President Donald Trump — men or women — just 4% say they would leave, compared to 29% of those who disapprove of the president.
The demographic that would most like to emigrate elsewhere also shows “the steepest drop in institutional confidence among any age or gender group,” according to USA Today.
“Since 2015, American women and girls aged 15 to 44 have lost trust in the country’s institutions by 17 points. Men’s confidence in institutions in the same time frame and age group have remained broadly stable, dropping just one point,” the article noted.
The poll did not ask why specifically people want to leave, but did measure confidence in some of the country’s institutions. “Across demographic groups, Americans with lower confidence in institutions such as the government, judicial system, military and integrity of elections are consistently more likely to express a desire to leave the country,” the poll report noted.