More people actually moved out of Florida than New York or California in 2021

• While out-of-staters were flocking into Florida in 2021, 674,740 residents moved out. 
• That's more than the total number of people that left California or New York that year.
• Those who moved out previously told Insider the state had become too unaffordable and crowded.

During the pandemic, sunny Florida was a hotspot for movers looking for beautiful weather year-round and lax pandemic restrictions.

But while newcomers were hoping to get a piece of paradise, Floridians were moving out, newly released census data shows. 

An estimated 674,740 people reported their permanent address changed in 2021 from Florida to another state, according to the data. That's more than any other state, including New York or California, two states have gotten the most attention for outbound migration during the pandemic. The dataset, which was released in June, tracked state-to-state migration through responses to the American Community Survey that year. 

Insider previously reported that Floridians were moving out because of extreme heat and the rising cost of living — driven in-part by new residents coming in. 

"Anytime you have a lot of newcomers in an area, it takes time for the market to adjust," Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale told Insider. "What happens in the short run is that housing gets more expensive." 

The census data shows most who moved in 2021 went to neighboring Georgia. 

Texas, another popular pandemic spot, claimed the number two spot on the list. Ironically, the Texans moving out were most likely to move to California, while Californians moving out of their state were most likely to land in Texas. 

To be sure, the data collected from the American Community Survey is not an exact representation. It is a scientific estimate based on a collection of information from a limited number of randomly selected residents, according to the US Census Bureau. Still, the data is the first official estimation from the federal government of what pandemic-era outbound migration from each state — a much broader sample size than private research. 

The data also undercuts the narrative that people are leaving states like New York and California more disproportionately than other highly populated states. The data shows that these states are just not seeing the inbound migration to counteract the number of those moving out, Hale said. Overall, Florida's population increased 329,717 between April 2020 and April 2021, according to the state's Office of Economic and Demographic Research. 

"If you only look at incoming or outgoing migration, you're going to miss some important pieces of the story," she said. 

Even though less people are buying homes anywhere right now, many of people that are looking to do so are searching outside their market Realtor.com's data shows, indicating that affordability is still driving movers across state lines, Hale added. 

"I think that it is going to continue to be a driving force for people who want to buy or want to rent and save a little bit of money on their housing costs, and a lot of times they have to move somewhere else in order to do that," she said.