The pandemic has created many challenges, but it also changed the way we live and work.

Some people are now choosing to make their vacations permanent and move to Southwest Florida full-time to work remotely. 

There is no urban exodus; perhaps it’s more of an urban shuffle. Despite talk of mass moves to Florida and Texas, data shows most people who did move stayed close to where they came from—although Sun Belt regions that were popular even before the pandemic (like SWFL) did see gains.

CityLab found that most people moving to Florida are moving to SWFL. Mapping the percentage of change during the pandemic compared to the year prior, CityLab provided ratios for the number of people moving in divided by the number moving out of areas.

The top areas in the region ranked by their percentage of growth include Clewiston (10.8%), Naples/Marco Island (9.7%), Punta Gorda (8.1%), Northport/Sarasota/Bradenton (7.3%) and Cape Coral/Fort Myers (6%).