By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS + RWorld Chief Economist
Key Takeaways
- The average wages of out-of-state job movers in the four quarters ended 2025 Q1 rose to $140,000. Job movers from Ohio ($328,632), Illinois ($248,726), and California ($208,521) had the highest average wages.
- On a net basis, the Miami Metro Area saw a $3.6 billion gain in wage earnings due to net job migration in the past four quarters ended 2025 Q1.
- The Miami Metro Area saw a net job migration of health care jobs (+2,743) and professional, scientific, and technical service jobs (+2,156) in the past four quarters ended 2025
Download the Miami Metro Area Job Migration Report as of 2025 Q2 HERE.
Average wages of out-of-state job movers in the past four quarters ended 2025 Q1 rose to $140,000
Out-of-state job movers into a Miami MSA destination jobs tend to have higher wages than in-state job movers (including within Miami MSA job moves). Among out-of-state job movers in the past four quarters ended 2025 Q1, the average wage in the Miami MSA destination job rose 0.7% from one year ago to $140,000 ($139,000 in the four quarters ended 2024 Q1).
Based on average wages in the four quarters ended 2025 Q1, the highest wage earners were job movers from Ohio ($328,632), Illinois ($248,926), California ($208,521), Minnesota ($203,896), and Washington ($186,436). Job movers from these states could be in higher-paying industries such as professional/technical services, financial activities, or medical /health.
For comparison, the annual median household income in the Miami MSA in 2024 (latest data) was $80,625, based on the US Census Bureau 2024 American Community Survey.
Meanwhile, lower-wage workers tend to move out of a Miami MSA job. Among workers who moved to another state in the four quarters ended 2025 Q1, the average annual wage was $87,000 while among workers who moved to another job within Florida (including within the Miami MSA), the average annual wage was $59,000. Workers who moved out of a Miami MSA job tended to be in retail trade; accommodation and food services; and administrative, support, waste management, and remediation services.
Job migration in the Miami Metro Area yield $3.6 Billion in net wage earnings
Higher wages among job movers moving into the Miami MSA compared to the lower wages among workers moving out resulted in a net earnings gain for the Miami Metro Area.
Total wages of job movers to a destination job in the Miami MSA in the past four quarters ended 2025 Q1 (474,125 job inflows) totaled $34.4 billion.
Annualized earnings of workers who switched jobs to another area in the four quarters ended 2025 Q1 (487,285 job outflows) totaled $30.9 billion.
On a net basis, the Miami MSA saw a net inflow of $3.6 billion despite a net job migration outward (-13,160) because workers moving into a Miami MSA destination job typically had higher wages than workers moving out of a Miami MSA job.
Rising net job migration in health care and professional/tech services
With the rise in the number of people 65 and older and South Florida’s economic transformation as a tech and finance hub, the Miami MSA is seeing a net job migration in the health care and social assistance industry and in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry.
In the first half of 2026, health care and social assistance industry net job migration increased to 2,743 jobs (1,589 in the first half of 2024) .
In the professional, scientific, and technical services industry, net job migration rose to 2,156 (1,828 in the first half of 2024).
The Miami MSA also saw a net job migration in the first half of 2025 in public administration (1,569), wholesale trade (1,194), real estate and rental and leasing (577), finance and insurance (437), manufacturing (282), and utilities (3).
However, there was a net job outmigration in other industries, with the largest net outflow in lower-paying jobs such as the retail trade industry (-6,318); accommodation and food services (-5,270); administrative, support, waste management and remediation (-2,745); arts, entertainment and recreation (-1,626); transportation and warehousing (-903); education services (-903); construction (-489), educational services (-449); and agriculture (-363).
Housing affordability is a key reason low-wage workers are moving out. The Live Local Act and the ROAD to Housing Affordability Act are intended to make housing more affordable for lower income households by increasing the supply of low-cost housing options (e.g. manufactured homes), easing zoning regulations (NAHB estimates that 25% of housing cost is due to regulation), and providing downpayment assistance (Hometown Heroes).
Job migration has slowed nationally since 2023 as labor conditions cooled with rising interest rates
As employment conditions started to cool in 2023 as the interest rates began to rise under tighter monetary policy, job creation and job migration also slowed down.
Nationally, the number of job-to-job flows in the past four quarters ended 2025 Q2 decreased 5.3% to 27.4 million (from 28.9 million in the four quarters ended 2024 Q2) ,
In the Miami MSA destination job (including from within the Miami MSA), the number people job moves to the area in the four quarters ended 2025 Q2 decreased 5.0% to 474,892 (from 499,725 in the four quarters ended 2024 Q2). ut-of-state job migration into decreased 9.0% to 55,313.
More recent data on driver license exchanges as of 2026 Q2 indicate a resurgence in out-of-state migration. In the first half of 2026, driver license exchanges from out-of-state into the South Florida counties rose 16% to 39,698. The resurgence in out-of-state migration comes at a time when New York has imposed an annual surcharge on pieds-a-terre of $1 million or more through 2031 and California is putting on the ballot box a proposal for a one-time 5% tax on net worth of $1 billion or more. More New Yorkers and Californians are Moving to South Florida in 2026 Based on Driver License Exchanges – MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld
