out-migration

American

[aut-mahy-gray-shuhn] / ˈaʊt maɪˌgreɪ ʃən /

noun

plural

out-migrations

the action or process of leaving a region or community to settle in another region, either domestically or abroad.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A 2023 paper by Stanford economist Joshua Rauh found that out-migration by California high earners accelerated after the 2012 hike.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 19, 2025

This is because the introduction of income tax in the post-World War II era led to out-migration by wealthy Americans.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2024

The decision to open a limited harvest this fall was informed by sonar and visual spawner surveys and juvenile out-migration counts.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2023

With the school closed, the out-migration from the town would become all but irreversible.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2023

Those who remained continued to work the land, but the out-migration of African Americans combined with other factors to make traditional agriculture less sustainable as the economic base of the region.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023