IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

Kentucky Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left Kentucky 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

86,522

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

80,661

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

+5,861

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

−$112 million

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 86,522 people appear on tax returns that moved into Kentucky from another state, and 80,661 on returns that moved out. On balance Kentucky gained 5,861 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $2.96 billion in income and the ones that left reported $3.07 billion.

Its largest net gain came from California (+1,795), and its largest net loss was to Indiana (−1,369).

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 Kentucky went

1Indiana10,191
2Ohio10,139
3Tennessee9,714
4Florida7,894
5Texas4,894
6Georgia3,044
7Illinois2,883
8North Carolina2,755
9California2,253
10Virginia2,165

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

Where new arrivals came from

1Ohio10,868
2Tennessee10,153
3Indiana8,822
4Florida8,292
5Texas4,631
6California4,048
7Illinois3,326
8Georgia2,945
9North Carolina2,740
10Michigan2,187

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

Kentucky and every other state

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

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	1,353	1,769	−416
Alaska	318	232	+86
Arizona	1,466	1,061	+405
Arkansas	613	613	0
California	4,048	2,253	+1,795
Colorado	1,687	1,296	+391
Connecticut	351	210	+141
Delaware	98	104	−6
District of Columbia	89	172	−83
Florida	8,292	7,894	+398
Georgia	2,945	3,044	−99
Hawaii	443	410	+33
Idaho	309	201	+108
Illinois	3,326	2,883	+443
Indiana	8,822	10,191	−1,369
Iowa	599	396	+203
Kansas	604	621	−17
Louisiana	718	558	+160
Maine	217	194	+23
Maryland	858	631	+227
Massachusetts	510	483	+27
Michigan	2,187	1,973	+214
Minnesota	502	624	−122
Mississippi	688	556	+132
Missouri	1,489	1,490	−1
Montana	236	164	+72
Nebraska	308	220	+88
Nevada	623	428	+195
New Hampshire	158	117	+41
New Jersey	636	372	+264
New Mexico	293	218	+75
New York	1,953	1,456	+497
North Carolina	2,740	2,755	−15
North Dakota	137	162	−25
Ohio	10,868	10,139	+729
Oklahoma	546	620	−74
Oregon	628	448	+180
Pennsylvania	1,444	1,219	+225
Rhode Island	82	97	−15
South Carolina	1,440	1,761	−321
South Dakota	241	149	+92
Tennessee	10,153	9,714	+439
Texas	4,631	4,894	−263
Utah	677	405	+272
Vermont	80	77	+3
Virginia	2,127	2,165	−38
Washington	1,364	1,044	+320
West Virginia	1,668	1,372	+296
Wisconsin	795	719	+76
Wyoming	162	87	+75

Migration between Kentucky 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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