Drew Dixon
As hurricane season swings into gear following three major storms striking Florida in 2024, the Sunshine State remains the most popular destination among Americans considering moves to areas disaster-prone areas.
That’s according to a new study by moveBuddha, a moving trend, booking and advisory company. Many Americans surveyed in the moveBuddha study say they’re likely to relocate to states known for facing hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and other disasters.
More than 24% say they see Florida as one of their top three states they’d relocate to. Florida topped California, which landed in the top three for more than 20% of respondents. That’s followed by North Carolina (nearly 16%), Hawaii (more than 15%) and Texas (nearly 13%).
The moveBuddha survey was conducted in October and tapped 1,250 Americans through a questionnaire compiled by Pollfish asking them if they’d buy affordable real estate in high-risk zones.
That means the survey took place after three hurricanes swiped Florida from August to October.
“Despite the news stories saying Florida will be underwater soon, and hurricane season dominating headlines every year, Florida is still a top destination for those moving to new states,” the moveBuddha study concluded. “So, despite some fears, Florida remains a hot destination in 2025.”
That doesn’t mean many aren’t concerned about the states with disaster danger zones. A majority taking part in the survey still have qualms.
Some 22% of the respondents to the survey say they’re unsure they’d move to capitalize on affordable real estate in areas likely to have natural disasters.
Another 31% are unlikely to make that move, and 30.5% say they’d never consider a high-risk region for affordable housing. Combined, that’s a nearly 62% majority that say it’s unlikely they’d relocate to such an area.
“For now, the vast majority of Americans say they’re not interested in areas with high natural disasters, even if it means facing higher real estate prices,” the moveBuddha analysis found
