IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

California Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left California went, where its new arrivals came from, and the income that moved with them. Counted from the addresses on tax returns.

Source data last read October 10, 2026. The IRS publishes one edition a year.

Moved in

389,700

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

590,247

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

−200,547

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

−$11.9 billion

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 389,700 people appear on tax returns that moved into California from another state, and 590,247 on returns that moved out. On balance California lost 200,547 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $24.2 billion in income and the ones that left reported $36.1 billion.

Its largest net gain came from New Jersey (+1,989), and its largest net loss was to Texas (−41,249).

What this counts, and what it does not

These are tax returns, not a head count. The IRS compares the address on a return filed in 2022 with the address on the same taxpayer’s return filed in 2023. “People” is the number of individuals listed on those returns.

Anyone who did not file in both years is missing: many students, retirees and low earners with no filing requirement, and anyone whose two returns could not be matched. The real number of people who moved is higher.

The address is a mailing address, which is not always where someone lives, and a move is dated by when the return was filed, not when the truck was loaded.

Income is the adjusted gross income on the second return (earned in 2022), attributed to the state the household moved to. It measures the income of the people who moved, not money a state “lost” or “gained”: much of it is wages from a job that may itself have changed.

Moves to and from other countries, military post offices and the US territories are not included in the totals here, and the IRS withholds any state-to-state flow of fewer than ten returns.

Where people who left California went

1Texas82,481
2Arizona47,885
3Nevada43,801
4Washington38,093
5Florida34,248
6New York25,783
7Oregon25,392
8Colorado21,800
9Tennessee19,473
10North Carolina18,066

Top 10 destinations for people leaving California, 2022–2023. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division.

Where new arrivals came from

1Texas41,232
2Washington27,750
3Arizona26,082
4Nevada25,024
5New York24,798
6Florida21,724
7Oregon15,353
8Illinois14,931
9Colorado14,394
10Virginia13,940

Top 10 origins of people moving to California, 2022–2023. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division.

California and every other state

People moving in each direction, and the difference. A positive net means California gained from that state.

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	2,630	4,462	−1,832
Alaska	1,903	2,248	−345
Arizona	26,082	47,885	−21,803
Arkansas	2,218	5,206	−2,988
Colorado	14,394	21,800	−7,406
Connecticut	3,536	3,292	+244
Delaware	720	850	−130
District of Columbia	2,217	2,432	−215
Florida	21,724	34,248	−12,524
Georgia	10,315	15,739	−5,424
Hawaii	8,376	9,315	−939
Idaho	5,172	14,845	−9,673
Illinois	14,931	13,617	+1,314
Indiana	4,567	6,264	−1,697
Iowa	2,063	3,186	−1,123
Kansas	2,867	4,218	−1,351
Kentucky	2,253	4,048	−1,795
Louisiana	3,223	3,508	−285
Maine	904	1,440	−536
Maryland	6,977	7,330	−353
Massachusetts	10,215	9,037	+1,178
Michigan	7,596	8,189	−593
Minnesota	4,778	5,601	−823
Mississippi	1,672	2,097	−425
Missouri	5,027	7,970	−2,943
Montana	2,046	4,695	−2,649
Nebraska	1,716	2,541	−825
Nevada	25,024	43,801	−18,777
New Hampshire	1,056	1,432	−376
New Jersey	9,468	7,479	+1,989
New Mexico	3,778	5,252	−1,474
New York	24,798	25,783	−985
North Carolina	10,665	18,066	−7,401
North Dakota	808	1,346	−538
Ohio	6,910	8,221	−1,311
Oklahoma	3,643	8,136	−4,493
Oregon	15,353	25,392	−10,039
Pennsylvania	8,987	8,526	+461
Rhode Island	1,143	1,221	−78
South Carolina	3,857	7,802	−3,945
South Dakota	912	2,119	−1,207
Tennessee	6,275	19,473	−13,198
Texas	41,232	82,481	−41,249
Utah	8,013	13,772	−5,759
Vermont	595	784	−189
Virginia	13,940	17,124	−3,184
Washington	27,750	38,093	−10,343
West Virginia	523	847	−324
Wisconsin	3,860	5,119	−1,259
Wyoming	988	1,915	−927

Migration between California and each other state, people on matched tax returns, 2022–2023.

Sources and methods

Every figure on this page comes from one of the datasets below and nowhere else. Nothing is estimated, interpolated or carried over from a previous edition. Where two sources measure something similar, they are reported separately rather than combined, because they are not measuring the same thing.

SOI Tax Stats: Migration Data 2022–2023, state-to-state outflow
Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
Covers
Returns filed in 2022 and 2023, 50 states and DC
Last read
October 10, 2026
The IRS matches each individual income tax return filed in 2022 to the same taxpayer’s return filed in 2023 and compares the addresses. People and income are taken from the second return, so the income is what those households earned in 2022. Amounts are published in thousands of dollars.
Exact file we read Publisher’s page
SOI Tax Stats: Migration Data 2022–2023, state-to-state inflow
Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
Covers
Returns filed in 2022 and 2023, 50 states and DC
Last read
October 10, 2026
The same flows listed by destination instead of origin. We read both files and publish a flow only when the two agree on it, which they do for every pair. The publisher’s page linked here is the IRS users guide, which defines every term used on this page.
Exact file we read Publisher’s page

Found something wrong? Our corrections log records every fix we have made, and we would rather hear about an error than have it stand.

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