RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Business Insider — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesCalifornia has the lowest student migration rate in the US. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Of 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. California
Palo Alto, California yujie chen/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 9.9%
Number of resident first-time students: 432,331
Number of students leaving: 43,016
Top destination: Arizona, with 5,537 students (12.9% of students going out-of-state)
49. Utah
Provo City, Utah Brett Taylor/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Out-of-state rate: 10.5%
Number of resident first-time students: 33,175
Number of students leaving: 3,497
Top destination: Idaho, with 1,038 students (29.7% of students going out-of-state)
48. Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan Nicholas Klein/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 12.4%
Number of resident first-time students: 82,242
Number of students leaving: 10,185
Top destination: Ohio, with 2,276 students (22.3% of students going out-of-state)
47. Arizona
Tempe, Arizona. Kruck20/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 12.8%
Number of resident first-time students: 59,989
Number of students leaving: 7,695
Top destination: California, with 933 students (12.1% of students going out-of-state)
46. Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi CRobertson/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 13.2%
Number of resident first-time students: 24,451
Number of students leaving: 3,222
Top destination: Alabama, with 614 students (19.1% of students going out-of-state)
45. Florida
Gainesville, Florida 6381380/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 13.3%
Number of resident first-time students: 179,229
Number of students leaving: 23,780
Top destination: Georgia, with 2,220 students (9.3% of students going out-of-state)
44. Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma GummyBone/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 14.1%
Number of resident first-time students: 35,946
Number of students leaving: 5,082
Top destination: Kansas, with 1,008 students (19.8% of students going out-of-state)
43. Texas
Austin, Texas Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 14.2%
Number of resident first-time students: 294,363
Number of students leaving: 41,772
Top destination: Oklahoma, with 4,796 students (11.5% of students going out-of-state)
42. Alabama
Auburn, Alabama Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 14.2%
Number of resident first-time students: 40,085
Number of students leaving: 5,701
Top destination: Mississippi, with 935 students (16.4% of students going out-of-state)
41. Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana CrackerClips/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Out-of-state rate: 14.8%
Number of resident first-time students: 41,892
Number of students leaving: 6,186
Top destination: Mississippi, with 1,090 students (17.6% of students going out-of-state)
40. Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa GummyBone/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 15.4%
Number of resident first-time students: 26,979
Number of students leaving: 4,144
Top destination: South Dakota, with 529 students (12.8% of students going out-of-state)
39. North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Kruck20/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Out-of-state rate: 15.5%
Number of resident first-time students: 83,293
Number of students leaving: 12,920
Top destination: Virginia, with 1,953 students (15.1% of students going out-of-state)
38. Ohio
Columbus, Ohio espiegle/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Out-of-state rate: 15.8%
Number of resident first-time students: 95,533
Number of students leaving: 15,141
Top destination: Indiana, with 1,769 students (11.7% of students going out-of-state)
37. Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana Wirestock/Getty Images
Out-of-state rate: 16.6%
Number of resident first-time students: 56,069
Number of students leaving: 9,288
Top destination: Ohio, with 1,851 students (19.9% of students going out-of-state)
36. Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky Ivelin Denev/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Out-of-state rate: 16.8%
Number of resident first-time students: 38,910
Number of students leaving: 6,535
Top dest...
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