A new Gallup poll should jolt every patriotic American: in 2025, roughly 40 percent of women aged 15 to 44 told pollsters they would permanently leave the United States if they could. That is not a sleepy statistical blip — it is a fourfold increase from 2014 and a glaring warning sign about the depth of disaffection among younger women. If we’re serious about conserving this country, we have to treat this as a national alarm, not an electoral talking point.
The gender gap here is astonishing: Gallup finds a 21-percentage-point difference between young women (40 percent) and young men (19 percent) wanting to emigrate, the widest such gap the polling firm has ever recorded. That gap widened after 2016, spiked during the last year of Joe Biden’s presidency, and stayed elevated into 2025, which tells you this isn’t just a momentary mood swing but a sustained breakdown in trust. Conservatives should stop reflexively blaming “youthful angst” and instead ask why civic institutions and the narrative of American opportunity are failing these women.
Gallup makes clear that the erosion of faith in institutions — government, the courts, the military, and election integrity — is at the center of this exodus fantasy, and younger women have seen the steepest drop in confidence of any demographic. The high emotions around issues like the Dobbs decision are real, but the underlying rot runs deeper: cultural elites, campus radicalism, and a media apparatus that treats patriotism as a grudge have convinced too many that America no longer serves them. Conservatives should say plainly that restoring institutional trust requires action: rule of law, honest education, and a revival of civic pride, not continual capitulation to woke outrage.
If they’re dreaming of greener pastures, Canada tops the list of preferred destinations, followed by New Zealand, Italy and Japan — countries that trade on safety, stability, and social cohesion. That preference is a slap in the face to anyone who believes in American exceptionalism; it’s proof that the left’s relentless messaging about American “systemic failure” is persuading people to imagine better lives elsewhere. Rather than indulging hand-wringing, conservatives should challenge these young women: if you think another country has more liberty and opportunity, show us — go and see for yourself — but don’t let Washington wreck what we love in the meantime.
This moment should harden, not soften, our resolve. We need a conservative revival that speaks to young women with concrete policies: economic growth that helps first-time buyers and young families, safer streets, meaningful maternal supports that don’t undermine family structure, and a schools agenda that teaches civic literacy instead of grievance. Winning hearts means offering real, practical hope — not just cultural sniping — and proving that staying in America is the best path to freedom and flourishing.
Patriotism demands action, and action starts with refusing to let elites and echo chambers sell off the future of our country. We can quibble over polling language, but the message is blunt: millions of younger women are disillusioned, and that is on every leader who thought culture could be ceded without consequence. Conservatives should turn this crisis into purpose — fight for institutions, fight for families, and restore the America that earns the loyalty of the next generation.
