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Record share of young US women consider moving abroad amid political and economic pressures
Aubrey and her wife will leave their upstate New York home for Costa Rica in January, joining a growing number of young American women reassessing their futures abroad. Their decision follows months of unease over the US political climate, from LGBTQ+ rights debates to broader safety concerns-a sentiment reflected in new Gallup data showing 40% of women aged 15-44 would emigrate if possible, the highest gender gap ever recorded.
Decade-long trend accelerates under political shifts
The surge in migration aspirations began over a decade ago, Gallup reports, predating the Trump presidency but intensifying under his administration. While only 19% of young men express similar desires, women's motivations span partisan divides, according to Nadia E. Brown, a Georgetown University professor specializing in gender studies.
"Women face conflicting demands-conservative calls for traditional roles and progressive expectations of career-driven independence," Brown explains. "Neither guarantees autonomy, pushing many to explore alternatives." Economic burdens-student debt, healthcare costs, and unaffordable housing-further fuel the exodus.
"Supplies have stabilized, but conservation remains essential."
Catalan Water Agency
Quality of life and safety drive departures
Kaitlin, 31, left Los Angeles for Lisbon four years ago, citing the US's lack of work-life balance. "Every day felt identical," she recalls. "Portugal's lower costs and social culture made me feel whole again." Like Kaitlin, 40% of Americans-predominantly Gen Z and Millennials-have considered moving, per a Harris Poll survey, with affordability as the top reason.
Alyssa, 34, relocated to Uruguay this year after the Roe v. Wade reversal and Trump's re-election. "I feared for my children's safety and my own bodily autonomy," she says. As a Latina, she adds, anti-immigrant rhetoric heightened her sense of vulnerability. "Florida already felt regressive. We weren't staying for a second Trump term."
Institutional distrust hits historic lows
Gallup's data reveals plummeting confidence in US institutions: just 26% trust the presidency, 14% Congress, and under half the courts. Young women's trust scores dropped 17 points since 2015-the steepest decline among demographics-under both Trump and Biden.
Marina, bound for Portugal in 2025, cites healthcare access and gun violence as key factors. "In Portugal, guns are harder to obtain, and healthcare is a right," she notes. Climate change also played a role: "Extreme weather and flooding made staying unbearable."
Global context: US lags on social supports
Professor Brown frames the trend as part of a broader pattern. "Women worldwide face similar pressures, but the US's gaps in maternal care, parental leave, and healthcare make the contrast starker," she says. Alyssa echoes this: "You don't realize how far behind the US is until you leave."
Gallup's findings mark a reversal: young American women, once less likely to consider emigration than peers in advanced economies, now lead the trend-a shift that began in the late 2000s.
