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Living in a major metro like New York City or Chicago has long been viewed as a hallmark of success. However, a growing number of city dwellers overburdened by housing costs and uncertain about their job prospects are beginning to question this long-held belief.
In spring 2025, the appeal of some of the biggest and most prestigious U.S. urban centers faded among the locals, with New York City, Boston, and Chicago all landing on the top 10 list of least popular cities for the first time, according to a new report from Realtor.com®.
The Cross-Market Demand Report analyzed the 100 largest U.S. metros for cross-market demand. Economists focused on views of Realtor.com listings and compared how many out-of-town visitors were looking at homes in a city versus how many locals were shopping for properties elsewhere from April to June 2025.
Chicago, IL
The data revealed that 72.1% of online home shopping traffic in Chicago during that period went to listings outside the city, up nearly 26% from 2019—the fourth-largest increase in out-of-market search activity over the past six years.
Home of the Chicago Bulls and deep-dish pizza, the nation’s third-most populous city (2.6 million residents) has a median home price of $379,900 as of June 2025. It ranked seventh least popular among local residents.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a significant share of outbound views went to more affordable Midwestern cities, including St. Louis, Minneapolis, and the nearby Milwaukee. However, some farther-afield destinations also piqued Chicagoans’ interest, among them Dallas, Nashville, TN, and Birmingham, AL.
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Boston, MA
Boston fared only marginally better than “The Second City,” settling into the ninth spot on the least-popular-metros list, with 72% of listing views being out-of-market. The change represents a surge of 24.7% over the past six years.
Notably, the price of the typical home in Boston during that time period soared more than 42%, reaching $854,974 last month.
Bostonians looking to move were most drawn to other Northeastern cities, led by New York, Providence, RI, and Hartford, CT, according to the data analyzed in the report.
New York City, NY
New York City closed out the unenviable top 10 list, with 71.7% of listing views going to homes in other areas up and down the Eastern Seaboard, including Philadelphia, Miami, and Boston.
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Since 2019, the Big Apple has seen its share of out-of-market online traffic edge up more than 20%, driven in part by its surging housing costs. In June, the median list price in the city was $786,500, up more than 32% compared with 2019.
“The major factor leading big-city dwellers to look to move elsewhere is affordability,” explains Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. “These major metros are notoriously expensive to live in, so we see their residents seeking less expensive homes in different metros near and far.”
Another factor to consider is that each of the three metros—Chicago, Boston, and New York City—have experienced rising unemployment, with rate increases since 2019 ranging between 0.7 and 1.5 percentage points, depending on the city.
San Jose, CA
Of the 10 markets in the latest report, seven also appeared on the list last year, including San Jose, CA, which once again took the No. 1 spot, with more than 9 in 10 online home views directed to other areas.
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The metric should come as no surprise. The Silicon Valley metro has the most expensive housing in the U.S., with the median list price in June reaching a staggering $1,398,000, according to the latest monthly housing market trends report from Realtor.com.
About 60% of listing views in San Jose were directed at other parts of California, with San Francisco the most popular destination.
The rest of the views targeted properties in other states, with Reno in the lead.
Washington, DC
Behind San Jose, Washington, DC, reprised its runner-up position this year, with 86.4% of the online traffic going to out-of-metro homes.
In an unexpected twist, Detroit has emerged as the No. 1 destination for Washingtonians looking to move, followed by Baltimore and Cleveland.
It’s important to note that in all three cities, the median list price is hundreds of thousands of dollars lower than the capital’s $625,000.
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“Homeownership is a key component of the American dream, and it seems that many of these big-city residents are willing to move quite a way to achieve it,” notes Berner.
The economist warns, however, that migration from large, high-priced metros to more affordable areas could bring unintended consequences.
“By increasing demand for homes in more affordable metros, these city dwellers are likely to drive up prices in more affordable metros and make it more difficult for locals to afford a home,” says Berner.