Canada and the U.S. have always been neighbours — but if a new study is anything to go by, that could be about to get a lot more literal.
A new global ranking has found that Canada is the most-searched destination for Americans looking to relocate abroad, with over 105,000 people a year researching how to move from the United States to Canada.
New research from cultural intelligence training platform Country Navigator analyzed developed economies worldwide to map out where Americans are most likely to relocate, factoring in migration trends, job markets, political stability, and cultural alignment with the U.S.
The findings reveal that while interest in moving abroad is widespread, the countries drawing the most American attention tend to share a specific set of advantages.
According to the report, nearly 900,000 Americans search for ways to move abroad every year — and when it comes to where they're researching, Canada isn't just on the list. It's leading it by a long way.
Over 105,000 Americans search to move here annually — nearly double the interest in second-place New Zealand, which recorded around 60,900 searches a year. The United Kingdom followed at 60,160.
The appeal is pretty clear. Canada has the lowest cultural distance score from the U.S. of any country in the top five, sitting at just 0.6 — meaning life here would feel familiar to Americans in a way few other places could match.
It also has well-established immigration pathways designed to attract skilled workers, and over 621 American migrants per 100,000 people already live in Canada.
While Canada tops the rankings for search demand, when the study weighs up all the factors — migration levels, political stability, unemployment, and cultural alignment — it lands joint fifth overall with a score of 8.07 out of 10. Canada's unemployment rate of 6.9% is the highest in the top ten, which pulls it down despite high scores elsewhere.
The country that actually ranks first overall is Switzerland, with a score of 8.34. It attracts just 31,740 annual searches from Americans — a fraction of Canada's numbers — but performs consistently across every other metric: political stability at 89%, unemployment at 4.9%, and a cultural distance score of just 1.3 from the U.S.
New Zealand ranks second at 8.22, with the highest political stability score in the top ten at 96%, while Ireland comes in third, recording the highest concentration of American migrants of any top-three country at 673.9 per 100,000 — partly thanks to its role as European headquarters for Google, Meta, and Apple.
Across the board, the top destinations share a few things in common: English-speaking environments or strong cultural ties to the U.S., clear immigration routes, and stable economies.
But when it comes to overall search volume? Nothing touches Canada — and given how close the two countries are, it's easy to see why so many Americans are eyeing a move.
Top countries for Americans to move to
- Switzerland
- New Zealand
- Republic of Ireland
- Netherlands
- Canada (joint 5th)
- Norway (joint 5th)
- Denmark
- Australia
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of Narcity's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards page.
