IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

Colorado Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left Colorado 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

187,420

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

180,132

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

+7,288

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

$715 million

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 187,420 people appear on tax returns that moved into Colorado from another state, and 180,132 on returns that moved out. On balance Colorado gained 7,288 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $10.0 billion in income and the ones that left reported $9.30 billion.

Its largest net gain came from California (+7,406), and its largest net loss was to Florida (−2,201).

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 Colorado went

1Texas21,783
2Florida15,384
3California14,394
4Arizona9,585
5Washington6,024
6North Carolina5,995
7Georgia4,673
8Virginia4,636
9Illinois4,609
10Missouri4,572

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

Where new arrivals came from

1Texas25,282
2California21,800
3Florida13,183
4Arizona8,903
5Illinois6,569
6Washington5,520
7New York5,394
8Virginia5,190
9North Carolina5,088
10Georgia4,919

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

Colorado and every other state

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

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	1,925	2,360	−435
Alaska	1,237	1,054	+183
Arizona	8,903	9,585	−682
Arkansas	1,397	1,971	−574
California	21,800	14,394	+7,406
Connecticut	1,147	1,018	+129
Delaware	315	229	+86
District of Columbia	638	516	+122
Florida	13,183	15,384	−2,201
Georgia	4,919	4,673	+246
Hawaii	2,143	1,590	+553
Idaho	1,663	2,134	−471
Illinois	6,569	4,609	+1,960
Indiana	2,603	2,214	+389
Iowa	2,210	2,134	+76
Kansas	3,781	4,234	−453
Kentucky	1,296	1,687	−391
Louisiana	2,124	1,563	+561
Maine	497	733	−236
Maryland	2,631	1,946	+685
Massachusetts	2,544	1,900	+644
Michigan	3,112	3,288	−176
Minnesota	3,332	3,084	+248
Mississippi	1,046	858	+188
Missouri	3,832	4,572	−740
Montana	1,591	2,235	−644
Nebraska	2,752	3,019	−267
Nevada	3,112	2,876	+236
New Hampshire	576	622	−46
New Jersey	2,150	1,424	+726
New Mexico	4,498	4,328	+170
New York	5,394	4,349	+1,045
North Carolina	5,088	5,995	−907
North Dakota	896	767	+129
Ohio	3,704	3,319	+385
Oklahoma	3,262	4,228	−966
Oregon	3,029	3,367	−338
Pennsylvania	3,567	3,036	+531
Rhode Island	312	309	+3
South Carolina	2,057	3,065	−1,008
South Dakota	1,089	1,647	−558
Tennessee	3,242	3,835	−593
Texas	25,282	21,783	+3,499
Utah	3,732	4,080	−348
Vermont	448	489	−41
Virginia	5,190	4,636	+554
Washington	5,520	6,024	−504
West Virginia	316	411	−95
Wisconsin	2,869	2,733	+136
Wyoming	2,897	3,825	−928

Migration between Colorado 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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