Where are Americans moving?
South, and to the suburbs. In the 2023 migration year Texas gained a net 112,481 people from other states and Florida 111,742, with South Carolina (11.0 per 1,000 residents) and North Carolina growing fastest for their size; California lost 200,547 and New York 157,970, the steepest rate in the country at 8.0 per 1,000. The single biggest move was California to Texas, 44,417 households. Since 2012 Florida has gained 1.75 million people and 224 billion dollars of income from other states while New York has lost 2.0 million people, and the fastest-growing counties are exurbs of Dallas, Houston, Orlando and Wilmington rather than the big cities themselves.
- 112,481net people Texas gained from other states in 2023, just ahead of Florida’s 111,742
- −8.0New York’s net migration per 1,000 residents in 2023, the steepest loss of any state
- 44,417households that moved from California to Texas in 2023, the biggest state-to-state flow
- $224Bof adjusted gross income that moved into Florida, net, from other states between 2012 and 2023
Based on IRS county-to-county migration data for the 2012 to 2023 migration years: about 4.0 million households and 6.6 million people moved between states in 2023 alone, across 3,087 counties and 969 metro and micro areas. Explore the live data.
Which states gained and lost the most people in 2023?
Texas gained a net 112,481 people from other states and Florida 111,742, then North Carolina (69,108), South Carolina (59,102), Tennessee (42,899), Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Idaho and Oklahoma. For their size South Carolina (11.0 per 1,000 residents), Delaware (7.5), Idaho (6.5) and North Carolina (6.4) grew fastest. California lost 200,547 people and New York 157,970, then Illinois (54,182), New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and Louisiana. Florida’s arrivals brought far more money: 20.6 billion dollars of net income against Texas’s 5.5 billion, while California lost 11.9 billion and New York 9.9 billion.
| State | Households arriving | Net people | Per 1,000 | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 307,240 | +112,481 | +3.7 | $5.5B |
| Florida | 354,112 | +111,742 | +4.9 | $20.6B |
| North Carolina | 170,751 | +69,108 | +6.4 | $3.9B |
| South Carolina | 99,779 | +59,102 | +11.0 | $4.1B |
| Tennessee | 113,788 | +42,899 | +6.0 | $2.8B |
| Georgia | 148,244 | +35,536 | +3.2 | $0.7B |
| Arizona | 121,675 | +27,127 | +3.6 | $2.8B |
| Massachusetts | 83,296 | −28,367 | −4.0 | −$4.0B |
| New Jersey | 107,653 | −29,871 | −3.2 | −$2.6B |
| Illinois | 117,297 | −54,182 | −4.3 | −$6.0B |
| New York | 192,240 | −157,970 | −8.0 | −$9.9B |
| California | 252,863 | −200,547 | −5.1 | −$11.9B |
Washington and Virginia came out almost exactly even on people, −29 and −42, after losing 18,798 and 6,843 the year before. The report’s map colours every county by this rate for whichever years you pick, and opening a state shows its arrivals, departures and income beside the map.
What are the biggest state-to-state moves?
California to Texas, 44,417 households and 82,481 people in 2023, carrying 4.8 billion dollars of income. New York to New Jersey (43,699 households) and New York to Florida (43,187) are next, and the New York to Florida movers were the richest big group, 5.8 billion dollars between them, about 133,000 dollars a household. California also sent 28,402 households to Arizona, 26,210 to Nevada and 24,625 to Washington, and the traffic runs both ways: 24,970 households moved from Texas to California and 26,793 from New Jersey back to New York.
| From | To | Households | People | Income | Per household |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Texas | 44,417 | 82,481 | $4.8B | $107,000 |
| New York | New Jersey | 43,699 | 73,471 | $5.1B | $117,000 |
| New York | Florida | 43,187 | 71,476 | $5.8B | $133,000 |
| California | Arizona | 28,402 | 47,885 | $2.5B | $88,000 |
| Florida | Georgia | 28,263 | 50,483 | $1.8B | $65,000 |
| New Jersey | New York | 26,793 | 38,722 | $3.0B | $111,000 |
| California | Nevada | 26,210 | 43,801 | $2.7B | $103,000 |
| Texas | California | 24,970 | 41,232 | $2.4B | $95,000 |
| California | Washington | 24,625 | 38,093 | $2.7B | $112,000 |
| Florida | Texas | 24,196 | 41,655 | $1.7B | $70,000 |
| Georgia | Florida | 23,475 | 40,689 | $2.1B | $91,000 |
| Florida | New York | 22,011 | 32,133 | $2.0B | $90,000 |
The 1,805 state pairs with 200 or more households between them account for 3.9 million households and 6.5 million people. California to New York is the richest flow of any size at 137,000 dollars a household (20,595 households, 2.8 billion dollars); Florida to Georgia the poorest of the big ones at 65,000. Open any state in the report to see its own arrivals and departures drawn as arcs.
Which states have gained the most people since 2012?
Florida, by a distance: a net 1,747,215 people and 224 billion dollars of income from other states across the twelve migration years from 2012 to 2023, then Texas (1,498,579 people, 63 billion dollars), North Carolina (616,483), South Carolina (540,081), Arizona (531,147) and Tennessee (412,542). For their size Idaho (120 per 1,000 residents), South Carolina (107) and Nevada (90) grew fastest. New York lost 2,007,990 people and 125 billion dollars, California 1,846,615 people and 114 billion, Illinois 984,922 people, and the District of Columbia lost 121 of every 1,000 residents.
| State | Net people | Per 1,000 | Net income | Households arriving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | +1,747,215 | +83 | $224B | 3,919,297 |
| Texas | +1,498,579 | +53 | $63B | 3,358,572 |
| North Carolina | +616,483 | +60 | $33B | 1,768,844 |
| South Carolina | +540,081 | +107 | $33B | 987,992 |
| Arizona | +531,147 | +75 | $33B | 1,377,270 |
| Tennessee | +412,542 | +61 | $23B | 1,153,718 |
| Idaho | +210,962 | +120 | $12B | 385,872 |
| Massachusetts | −319,881 | −47 | −$24B | 851,825 |
| New Jersey | −411,093 | −46 | −$36B | 1,136,445 |
| Illinois | −984,922 | −77 | −$72B | 1,218,449 |
| California | −1,846,615 | −47 | −$114B | 3,017,973 |
| New York | −2,007,990 | −102 | −$125B | 1,898,589 |
Georgia, Nevada, Washington, Colorado and Oregon each gained more than 145,000 people over the period. Nine of the 26 states that gained people in 2023 were losing them in 2012, among them Georgia, which turned positive in 2013, Utah (2015), Alabama and Arkansas (2016), Missouri (2019) and Vermont (2020); Washington, Oregon, Virginia and North Dakota went the other way. The report’s year slider takes any range from 2012 to 2023.
Which counties are growing fastest from migration?
Exurbs. Among counties with 50,000 or more residents, Liberty County outside Houston and Jackson County outside Atlanta each gained 43 people per 1,000 residents from migration in 2023, then Brunswick County on the North Carolina coast (39.5), Kaufman County east of Dallas (39.0), Sumter County in central Florida, home of The Villages (35.1), and Comal, St. Johns and Flagler counties. By headcount the leaders were Montgomery County north of Houston (18,577), Polk County between Tampa and Orlando (18,556), Pasco County (18,430) and Collin County (18,388). The biggest losers were Los Angeles County (86,523 people), Cook County (42,264), Kings and Queens counties in New York (about 41,000 each) and Miami-Dade (40,258).
| County | Net people | Per 1,000 | Net income | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty County, TX | +4,678 | +42.8 | $103M | 115,042 |
| Jackson County, GA | +3,793 | +42.8 | $175M | 93,825 |
| Brunswick County, NC | +6,320 | +39.5 | $502M | 167,112 |
| Kaufman County, TX | +7,282 | +39.0 | $178M | 197,829 |
| Sumter County, FL | +5,343 | +35.1 | $402M | 154,693 |
| Comal County, TX | +6,471 | +33.3 | $425M | 201,628 |
| St. Johns County, FL | +10,642 | +33.1 | $836M | 334,928 |
| Montgomery County, TX | +18,577 | +26.0 | $846M | 749,613 |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | −40,258 | −14.5 | $484M | 2,838,461 |
| Queens County, NY | −41,024 | −17.9 | −$1,881M | 2,316,841 |
| Kings County, NY | −41,084 | −15.8 | −$926M | 2,617,631 |
| Cook County, IL | −42,264 | −8.2 | −$4,464M | 5,182,617 |
| Los Angeles County, CA | −86,523 | −8.9 | −$4,383M | 9,757,179 |
The Bronx lost 22.6 of every 1,000 residents, the steepest rate of any large county, and Miami-Dade is the odd one out among the big losers: it shed 40,258 people but gained 484 million dollars of income, because the households arriving were far richer than the ones leaving. The report colours all 3,087 counties by this rate and opens any of them.
Which metros are gaining and losing people?
Dallas-Fort Worth gained the most people in 2023, a net 38,499, then Houston (23,417), Tampa (20,888), Charlotte (19,908), Lakeland-Winter Haven (18,556), Jacksonville (18,554), Phoenix, San Antonio, Austin and Sarasota. New York lost 181,613, Los Angeles 108,943, Miami 54,761, Chicago 47,153 and San Francisco 39,483. For their size the Florida retirement and commuter metros lead: Lakeland gained 22.5 per 1,000 residents, Port St. Lucie 21.3, Daytona Beach 17.1, Melbourne 15.9 and Sarasota 15.7, while San Jose lost 11.3 per 1,000 and New Orleans 9.9.
| Metro | Net people | Per 1,000 | Arriving income | Staying income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | +38,499 | +4.7 | $83,700 | $113,900 |
| Houston | +23,417 | +3.1 | $78,000 | $107,100 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | +20,888 | +6.2 | $81,200 | $90,300 |
| Charlotte | +19,908 | +7.1 | $79,800 | $106,500 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | +18,556 | +22.5 | $56,300 | $65,600 |
| Jacksonville | +18,554 | +10.8 | $86,400 | $95,600 |
| North Port-Sarasota | +14,383 | +15.7 | $131,500 | $119,800 |
| San Francisco-Oakland | −39,483 | −8.6 | $142,500 | $187,100 |
| Chicago | −47,153 | −5.1 | $87,200 | $112,600 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale | −54,761 | −8.6 | $127,900 | $109,900 |
| Los Angeles | −108,943 | −8.5 | $94,000 | $110,700 |
| New York | −181,613 | −9.2 | $104,500 | $126,800 |
In almost every metro the people arriving earn less than the people already there, which is what you would expect of movers, who skew young. Miami and Sarasota are the exceptions: arrivals to Miami averaged 127,900 dollars against 109,900 for the households who stayed. Austin’s arrivals, at 96,000 dollars, were the richest of any big Texas metro but still a third below the 143,800 of the households already there.
Where do the people leaving Miami-Dade go?
Next door. Of the 65,305 households that left Miami-Dade in 2023, 17,471 went to Broward County and 2,734 to Palm Beach, then Lee County (Fort Myers, 2,131), Orange County (Orlando, 2,072) and Hillsborough (Tampa, 1,626); New York County was the first out-of-state destination at 1,149, and Harris County, Texas took 1,094. Coming the other way, 10,482 households arrived from Broward and 1,445 from Manhattan, the richest group by far at 358,000 dollars each. The county has lost people to migration in every year since 2012, but 2021 was the year the money arrived: 45,455 households brought 10.4 billion dollars, 229,000 dollars each, against 100,000 in 2019 and 127,000 in 2023.
| Year | Arriving | Leaving | Net people | Arriving income | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 76,242 | 96,972 | −33,730 | $51,000 | $0.2B |
| 2015 | 34,179 | 41,320 | −14,262 | $78,000 | $0.7B |
| 2017 | 39,234 | 63,736 | −47,431 | $75,000 | −$0.5B |
| 2019 | 37,630 | 53,576 | −31,440 | $100,000 | $0.5B |
| 2020 | 39,562 | 56,700 | −34,526 | $114,000 | $0.9B |
| 2021 | 45,455 | 59,625 | −29,198 | $229,000 | $6.4B |
| 2022 | 45,873 | 59,992 | −28,370 | $176,000 | $2.1B |
| 2023 | 43,906 | 65,305 | −40,258 | $127,000 | $0.5B |
The households who stayed in Miami-Dade in 2023 averaged 94,000 dollars, so even the post-2021 arrivals were richer than the county. The IRS folds any county pair with fewer than 20 returns into the totals, so the partner lists in the report show only the flows large enough to publish; the county totals include the rest.
How was this measured?
Migration flows come from the IRS Statistics of Income county-to-county migration data, 2012 to 2023, which match each tax return to the one filed the year before and record a move when the county changes. Households are returns, people are the exemptions claimed on them, and income is the adjusted gross income reported in the year of the move, so children count, people who do not file do not, and a household’s income is the one it reported after moving. Populations are Census Bureau estimates, and rates on this page are per 1,000 of the average population over the years chosen.
The IRS suppresses any county pair with fewer than 20 returns and folds those households into the county and state totals, so partner lists and the arcs in the report show only publishable flows. Connecticut replaced its counties with planning regions in the 2022-23 data, so its county history is not continuous. Totals on this page are summed from the report’s own query results over the years named in each caption.
The data lives in a Power BI semantic model on Microsoft Fabric. Every number on this page was produced by an AI assistant running the report’s own queries against that model, and the same model powers the live public report.
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