IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

Louisiana Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left Louisiana 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

65,960

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

83,293

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

−17,333

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

−$799 million

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 65,960 people appear on tax returns that moved into Louisiana from another state, and 83,293 on returns that moved out. On balance Louisiana lost 17,333 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $2.15 billion in income and the ones that left reported $2.95 billion.

Its largest net gain came from California (+285), and its largest net loss was to Texas (−7,807).

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 Louisiana went

1Texas27,449
2Mississippi6,882
3Florida5,814
4Georgia3,938
5California3,223
6Tennessee2,691
7Arkansas2,679
8Alabama2,549
9North Carolina2,304
10Colorado2,124

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

Where new arrivals came from

1Texas19,642
2Mississippi5,591
3Florida4,590
4California3,508
5Georgia3,156
6Arkansas1,989
7Alabama1,894
8North Carolina1,777
9Tennessee1,682
10Virginia1,596

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

Louisiana and every other state

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

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	1,894	2,549	−655
Alaska	316	337	−21
Arizona	950	1,025	−75
Arkansas	1,989	2,679	−690
California	3,508	3,223	+285
Colorado	1,563	2,124	−561
Connecticut	260	223	+37
Delaware	89	128	−39
District of Columbia	148	253	−105
Florida	4,590	5,814	−1,224
Georgia	3,156	3,938	−782
Hawaii	340	296	+44
Idaho	179	221	−42
Illinois	1,071	1,316	−245
Indiana	642	744	−102
Iowa	304	309	−5
Kansas	527	693	−166
Kentucky	558	718	−160
Maine	115	147	−32
Maryland	719	864	−145
Massachusetts	420	518	−98
Michigan	817	804	+13
Minnesota	343	475	−132
Mississippi	5,591	6,882	−1,291
Missouri	1,066	1,212	−146
Montana	190	205	−15
Nebraska	241	274	−33
Nevada	568	657	−89
New Hampshire	97	107	−10
New Jersey	542	437	+105
New Mexico	390	423	−33
New York	1,514	1,415	+99
North Carolina	1,777	2,304	−527
North Dakota	272	238	+34
Ohio	877	1,077	−200
Oklahoma	994	1,134	−140
Oregon	361	451	−90
Pennsylvania	868	966	−98
Rhode Island	87	107	−20
South Carolina	933	1,110	−177
South Dakota	165	165	0
Tennessee	1,682	2,691	−1,009
Texas	19,642	27,449	−7,807
Utah	305	408	−103
Vermont	53	88	−35
Virginia	1,596	1,999	−403
Washington	999	1,279	−280
West Virginia	120	208	−88
Wisconsin	410	468	−58
Wyoming	122	141	−19

Migration between Louisiana 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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