253K people left Virginia last year: These were their top destinations

(NEXSTAR) — Virginia saw its fair share of residents leave in 2023, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Many of those ex-Virginians didn't go too far, however. According to the latest state-by-state migration data, more than 253,000 people packed up their things and left the Old Dominion State in 2023. Fewer than the previous year when Virginia saw about 282,000 people leave. Florida was the top-receiving state of former Virginians at just over 28,000 people, unlike last year when most left for neighboring North Carolina. Other popular options for moving Virginia residents were North Carolina (25,555 people), Maryland (21,670), California (15,837), and Texas (14,137). North Dakota was the only state in the country without a former Virginian calling their new home. Despite losing about 253,000 people last year, however, Virginia was able to make up that number thanks to nearly 276,000 people moving into the state, the Census determined. That's a bit more than the 266,000 who relocated to Virginia in 2022. As for overseas, Virginia saw a total of 54,407 residents move to the state from another country. Virginia received the largest influx of newest residents from Maryland at 28,203, followed by Florida (24,733), and North Carolina (23,197). The Associated Press contributed to this report.