California has the lowest student migration rate in the US.Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphotoOf 2.93 million first-time college students across the US, 19.1% enroll in out-of-state schools.California has the lowest rate of students enrolling out-of-state, while Vermont has the highest.Factors such as cost, degree programs, and campus life can lead students to enroll out-of-state.As summer's end nears, many young adults — and their soon-to-be-empty-nester parents — are starting to pack up suitcases and buy dorm furniture as they prepare to move away for college.Whether they're looking for specialized degree programs, school prestige, affordable tuition, broader networking opportunities, or a more distinctive campus experience, many students will soon be attending college across state lines from their parents.Enrollment data from the US Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System measures the number of first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students residing in each state and documents which institutions those students enroll in — and where those institutions are located relative to the student's permanent address at the time of application.The most recent release, documenting the fall of 2024, shows that of the over 2.93 million first-time students across all US states, 562,209, or 19.1%, enrolled at an out-of-state institution.Business Insider also compared out-of-state enrollment rates across state lines and ranked all 50 US states by the share of resident first-time students who enrolled outside their state. Using IPEDS data, we also calculated the most common destination state among residents who enrolled out of state.While the data and our calculations can help show the broader picture of student migration in many states, they do not capture the factors that led each student to enroll out of state, nor do they explicitly reflect how many students are physically moving their primary residence, since IPEDS data also includes online programs that may be located in states other than the student's residence.See where your state ranked and where its out-of-state students most commonly enrolled.50. CaliforniaPalo Alto, Californiayujie chen/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 9.9%Number of resident first-time students: 432,331Number of students leaving: 43,016Top destination: Arizona, with 5,537 students (12.9% of students going out-of-state)49. UtahProvo City, UtahBrett Taylor/Getty Images/iStockphotoOut-of-state rate: 10.5%Number of resident first-time students: 33,175Number of students leaving: 3,497Top destination: Idaho, with 1,038 students (29.7% of students going out-of-state)48. MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganNicholas Klein/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 12.4%Number of resident first-time students: 82,242Number of students leaving: 10,185Top destination: Ohio, with 2,276 students (22.3% of students going out-of-state)47. ArizonaTempe, Arizona.Kruck20/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 12.8%Number of resident first-time students: 59,989Number of students leaving: 7,695Top destination: California, with 933 students (12.1% of students going out-of-state)46. MississippiHattiesburg, MississippiCRobertson/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 13.2%Number of resident first-time students: 24,451Number of students leaving: 3,222Top destination: Alabama, with 614 students (19.1% of students going out-of-state)45. FloridaGainesville, Florida6381380/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 13.3%Number of resident first-time students: 179,229Number of students leaving: 23,780Top destination: Georgia, with 2,220 students (9.3% of students going out-of-state)44. OklahomaTulsa, OklahomaGummyBone/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 14.1%Number of resident first-time students: 35,946Number of students leaving: 5,082Top destination: Kansas, with 1,008 students (19.8% of students going out-of-state)43. TexasAustin, TexasJacob Boomsma/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 14.2%Number of resident first-time students: 294,363Number of students leaving: 41,772Top destination: Oklahoma, with 4,796 students (11.5% of students going out-of-state)42. AlabamaAuburn, AlabamaJacob Boomsma/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 14.2%Number of resident first-time students: 40,085Number of students leaving: 5,701Top destination: Mississippi, with 935 students (16.4% of students going out-of-state)41. LouisianaBaton Rouge, LouisianaCrackerClips/Getty Images/iStockphotoOut-of-state rate: 14.8%Number of resident first-time students: 41,892Number of students leaving: 6,186Top destination: Mississippi, with 1,090 students (17.6% of students going out-of-state)40. IowaIowa City, IowaGummyBone/Getty ImagesOut-of-state rate: 15.4%Number of resident first-time students: 26,979Number of students leaving: 4,144Top destination: South Dakota, with 529 students (12.8% of students going out-of-state)39. North CarolinaWinston-Salem, North CarolinaKruck20/Getty Images/iStockphotoOut-of-state rate: 15.5%Number of resident first-time students: 83,293Numbe
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