New study crowns America's least popular city as residents flee

A new study has revealed the US's least popular city, as a new analysis found Americans are trying to flee the city at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country.

While destinations such as San Francisco and New York are sought-after places to reside in, there are other US cities that people cannot wait to get out of.

And that's where America's least popular city comes in, with the data to determine such being collected by the moving research platform moveBuddha.

From January 2024 to October 2025, the team identified the top exit city in each US state, ultimately concluding with the least popular city in the entire country.

According to their research, for every 80 people looking to call this city home, 100 were looking for information on how to leave.

Des Moines is the capital city of Iowa, which is where the Iowa State Capitol Building is located (Getty stock images)

The analysts at moveBuddha wrote: "Today, Waukee is the state’s top move-to suburb, pulling in more new building permits than West Des Moines.

"And at [an average home value of] $319K, West Des Moines is pricey by Des Moines standards, so new Iowans aren’t seeing an affordability edge in the mature suburb, where the average home dates from 1993 (in Ankeny, homes average 16 years younger)."

The findings will certainly come as a surprise to locals, considering West Des Moines was ranked as one of the best places to live in the US as recently as 2016 by Money magazine.

So why has West Des Moines fallen off?

West Des Moines in Iowa was rated one of the best places to live as recently as 2016 (Getty Stock Photo)

Well, the moveBuddha website explained: "This default destination has fallen victim to nearby competitors — Waukee, Ankeny, Grimes, Johnston, and Urbandale all offer newer construction.

"Today, Waukee is the state’s top move-to suburb, pulling in more new building permits than West Des Moines."

The moving site notes that an average house price of $319,000 is also likely a contributing factor to people leaving.

According to a 2025 analysis of city-to-city migration by U.S. News and World Report, the third most popular migration route was from West Des Moines to Phoenix, Arizona, with analysts concluding that some were 'likely seeking warmer year-round weather, perhaps for retirement'.

They also compiled a list of the 25 least popular cities in each US state, with the top 10 including:

• West Des Moines, IA
• San Marcos, CA
• Port Richey, FL
• Yonkers, NY
• Moscow, ID
• Norwalk, CT
• Lowell, MA
• Ellicott City, MD
• Woodbridge, VA
• Issaquah, WA

UNILAD has reached out to the City of Des Moines for comment.

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