IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

South Carolina Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left South Carolina 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

178,163

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

119,061

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

+59,102

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

$4.13 billion

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 178,163 people appear on tax returns that moved into South Carolina from another state, and 119,061 on returns that moved out. On balance South Carolina gained 59,102 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $8.83 billion in income and the ones that left reported $4.70 billion.

Its largest net gain came from New York (+8,216), and its largest net loss was to the District of Columbia (−76).

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 South Carolina went

1North Carolina25,354
2Georgia14,440
3Florida12,237
4Texas6,568
5Virginia6,476
6New York4,709
7Tennessee3,976
8California3,857
9Pennsylvania3,373
10Ohio3,205

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

Where new arrivals came from

1North Carolina32,282
2Florida16,939
3Georgia16,296
4New York12,925
5Virginia8,853
6California7,802
7Pennsylvania7,269
8Texas7,083
9New Jersey6,585
10Ohio5,159

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

South Carolina and every other state

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

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	2,053	2,035	+18
Alaska	538	378	+160
Arizona	2,396	1,426	+970
Arkansas	570	570	0
California	7,802	3,857	+3,945
Colorado	3,065	2,057	+1,008
Connecticut	2,915	1,028	+1,887
Delaware	599	384	+215
District of Columbia	347	423	−76
Florida	16,939	12,237	+4,702
Georgia	16,296	14,440	+1,856
Hawaii	745	688	+57
Idaho	589	406	+183
Illinois	3,669	1,728	+1,941
Indiana	2,022	1,442	+580
Iowa	612	387	+225
Kansas	772	669	+103
Kentucky	1,761	1,440	+321
Louisiana	1,110	933	+177
Maine	718	499	+219
Maryland	4,528	2,117	+2,411
Massachusetts	3,449	1,347	+2,102
Michigan	2,754	1,797	+957
Minnesota	1,199	584	+615
Mississippi	921	765	+156
Missouri	1,366	1,104	+262
Montana	367	290	+77
Nebraska	391	286	+105
Nevada	1,045	706	+339
New Hampshire	1,000	405	+595
New Jersey	6,585	1,760	+4,825
New Mexico	591	491	+100
New York	12,925	4,709	+8,216
North Carolina	32,282	25,354	+6,928
North Dakota	248	185	+63
Ohio	5,159	3,205	+1,954
Oklahoma	846	754	+92
Oregon	998	600	+398
Pennsylvania	7,269	3,373	+3,896
Rhode Island	632	272	+360
South Dakota	280	220	+60
Tennessee	4,311	3,976	+335
Texas	7,083	6,568	+515
Utah	1,094	638	+456
Vermont	534	236	+298
Virginia	8,853	6,476	+2,377
Washington	2,983	1,837	+1,146
West Virginia	1,458	937	+521
Wisconsin	1,235	856	+379
Wyoming	259	186	+73

Migration between South Carolina 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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