Young Women Want a Divorce From Uncle Sam

I’m fed up and I’m moving out of the United States. How many times have we heard that, especially from celebrities, upset that President Donald Trump was elected and then re-elected to the Oval Office? Only a few have jumped ship to take up residence in another country, but the trend of wanting to leave America is growing – especially among younger women. A new Gallup poll found that 40% of women in the United States between the ages of 15 to 44 said they would permanently move to another country if they had the chance. Why do so many women want to leave the nation? Is it really all about politics?

Young Women Want to Leave

A growing number of younger American women are imagining their lives somewhere else. In 2014, when Gallup asked the same question, only 10% of women in the 15-to-44 age group said they wanted to seek greener pastures. That percentage is now four times higher, with one in five Americans saying they would like to leave the States for good.

The poll shows a 21-point difference between younger women (40%) and younger men (19%) on the question of wanting to move away, the widest gender gap Gallup has recorded since it began asking about migration desires around the world in 2007. The survey, published Nov. 13, was based on telephone interviews with 1,000 US residents aged 15 and older conducted June 14–July 16.

What the Poll Shows – and What It Doesn’t

Gallup stresses that its question measures desire, not concrete plans. Many people who say they would like to move abroad will never go. But the trend still signals a powerful shift in how younger women see their futures.

Younger females’ desire to leave began climbing sharply around 2016, during the final year of Barack Obama’s presidency and the election that brought Donald Trump to the White House. It remained elevated through Joe Biden’s term and has stayed high in 2025, Trump’s second term. This year, there is a 25-point gap between Americans who approve of the country’s leadership and those who disapprove when it comes to wanting to move away. That gap was much smaller from 2008 to 2016 and began widening after Trump’s first election.

Younger women, in particular, have lost confidence in key institutions such as the government, courts, military, and elections — more than any other group Gallup tracks. In 2015, women aged 15 to 44 scored an average of 57 on Gallup’s National Institutions Index; by 2025, that score had fallen by 17 points. Confidence in the judicial system among younger women dropped from 55% in 2015 to 32% in 2025.

Gallup notes that the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the federal constitutional right to abortion, may have contributed to this decline in trust, especially in the courts. At the same time, the polling organization points out that younger women’s desire to leave was already rising before that ruling.

Axios adds that nearly 60% of young women now identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with 39% of younger men. “Unlike their peers in other advanced economies, younger American women now stand apart from the rest of the U.S. in several respects. They increasingly lack faith in national institutions and picture their futures beyond America’s borders,” the Gallup report reads. In other wealthy democracies, younger women’s interest in emigrating has stayed relatively stable, typically between 20% and 30%.

But politics isn’t the only issue driving the desire to relocate. Health care costs are a recurring reason. An August report from a prominent Washington newspaper cited responses from people who wanted to leave the country. One woman told the outlet that medical bills and care were driving forces. When her doctors suggested she use crowdfunding to pay for brain surgery, she’d had enough and eventually moved to Italy. where she received access to the country’s national health care.  Other reasons to relocate included crime and the cost of living. Depending on where one lives, owning a home in the United States could be just a far-fetched dream.

Canada is the top destination named by younger American women since 2022, with 11% choosing it as their preferred country. New Zealand, Italy, and Japan follow.

Some Hollywood personalities, such as Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Ellen DeGeneres, Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, and Rosie O’Donnell, made good on their threats and defected to other countries. While many may claim they want to leave America, most end up staying for several reasons. Cost is one of the biggest hurdles, and most people don’t have celebrity bankrolls. It’s expensive to set up in a different country, especially if one wants to get citizenship there. Leaving jobs, family, and friends adds to the difficulties.

While more young women express a desire to leave the United States, most will not do so, whether by choice or for lack of resources. In many instances, the wish to relocate could just be an expression of frustration at their current circumstances. Despite America’s problems, it still has the most stable economy, best military defense, and the most freedom and liberty – difficult benefits to give up for a change of scenery and politics.