U.S. population migration data


Migration data for the United States are based on year-to-year address changes reported on individual income tax returns filed with the IRS. They present migration patterns by State or by county for the entire United States and are available for inflows—the number of new residents who moved to a State or county and where they migrated from, and outflows—the number of residents leaving a State or county and where they went. The data are available for Filing Years 1991 through 2022 and include:

  • Number of returns filed, which approximates the number of households that migrated
  • Number of personal exemptions claimed, which approximates the number of individuals
  • Total adjusted gross income, starting with Filing Year 1995
  • Aggregate migration flows at the State level, by the size of adjusted gross income (AGI) and age of the primary taxpayer, starting with Filing Year 2011.

Important: Beginning with data for 2011–2012, SOI has introduced a number of enhancements to improve the data’s overall quality, as well as provide a new series of information. For more information, see “SOI migration data: A new approach PDF.” 

Migration data

Migration data 1990–2011

Migration data for years 1990 to 2011 are available as single Zip files containing all Excel files, including migration inflow and outflow files, for each State. The files are compressed using the WinZip utility and must be downloaded and extracted before viewing or loading into any application. A free WinZip utility is available, if needed.

Important: The data used to produce migration data products come from individual income tax returns filed prior to late September of each calendar year and represent between 95 and 98 percent of total annual filings. However, since returns filed after September are not included, totals shown in migration data tables will not match analogous totals reported in other IRS statistical data products. For more information, see U.S. population migration data: Strengths and limitations DOC.

County-to-county migration data

State-to-state migration data

Follow these steps to extract files for the entire year (all States) or for an individual State.

To extract an entire year (all states) using WinZip:

  1. Double click the Zip file to open the WinZip utility.
  2. Double click the folder.
  3. Click and drag either the Inflow and/or Outflow folder to your desktop.

OR

  1. Double click the Zip file to open the WinZip utility (NOTE: SecureZIP users should follow the following steps).
  2. Click the ‘Extract’ button. Ensure that the radio button, ‘All Files in Archive Selected’, is selected.
  3. Select a destination folder.
  4. Click the ‘Extract’ button.

To extract an individual state using WinZip:

  1. Double click the Zip file to open the WinZip utility.
  2. Double click the folder.
  3. Double click either the Inflow or Outflow folder.
  4. Click and drag the desired Excel file(s) to your desktop.

OR

  1. Double click the Zip file to open the WinZip utility (NOTE: SecureZIP users should follow the following steps).
  2. Highlight the desired Excel file(s).
  3. Click the ‘Extract’ button. Ensure that radio button, ‘Selected Files/Folder’, is selected.
  4. Select a destination folder.
  5. Click the ‘Extract’ button.