IRS tax-return data · 2022–2023

Tennessee Migration: Who Moved In, Who Moved Out

Where people who left Tennessee 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

198,430

People, from other states, 2022–2023

Moved out

155,531

People, to other states, 2022–2023

Net

+42,899

People: moved in minus moved out

Net income

$2.75 billion

Arrivals’ income minus leavers’, earned in 2022

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, 198,430 people appear on tax returns that moved into Tennessee from another state, and 155,531 on returns that moved out. On balance Tennessee gained 42,899 people to the rest of the country. The households that arrived reported $9.04 billion in income and the ones that left reported $6.28 billion.

Its largest net gain came from California (+13,198), and its largest net loss was to Alabama (−1,150).

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 Tennessee went

1Florida16,593
2Georgia13,845
3Texas12,226
4Mississippi10,602
5Kentucky10,153
6Alabama8,763
7North Carolina8,140
8Virginia6,435
9California6,275
10Illinois4,755

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

Where new arrivals came from

1Florida21,857
2California19,473
3Georgia14,326
4Texas12,672
5Mississippi9,905
6Kentucky9,714
7Illinois8,887
8North Carolina8,701
9Virginia7,627
10Alabama7,613

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

Tennessee and every other state

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

State	Moved in from	Moved out to	Net
Alabama	7,613	8,763	−1,150
Alaska	667	499	+168
Arizona	3,988	2,373	+1,615
Arkansas	3,286	3,544	−258
California	19,473	6,275	+13,198
Colorado	3,835	3,242	+593
Connecticut	1,173	589	+584
Delaware	323	248	+75
District of Columbia	281	416	−135
Florida	21,857	16,593	+5,264
Georgia	14,326	13,845	+481
Hawaii	810	603	+207
Idaho	794	471	+323
Illinois	8,887	4,755	+4,132
Indiana	4,382	3,855	+527
Iowa	996	851	+145
Kansas	1,103	1,024	+79
Kentucky	9,714	10,153	−439
Louisiana	2,691	1,682	+1,009
Maine	478	406	+72
Maryland	2,313	1,513	+800
Massachusetts	1,695	1,201	+494
Michigan	4,731	3,545	+1,186
Minnesota	1,665	1,173	+492
Mississippi	9,905	10,602	−697
Missouri	2,985	3,042	−57
Montana	506	378	+128
Nebraska	673	485	+188
Nevada	1,910	1,007	+903
New Hampshire	471	364	+107
New Jersey	2,437	1,057	+1,380
New Mexico	911	548	+363
New York	6,413	3,434	+2,979
North Carolina	8,701	8,140	+561
North Dakota	259	214	+45
Ohio	5,388	4,492	+896
Oklahoma	1,330	1,324	+6
Oregon	1,832	923	+909
Pennsylvania	3,617	2,326	+1,291
Rhode Island	293	242	+51
South Carolina	3,976	4,311	−335
South Dakota	469	306	+163
Texas	12,672	12,226	+446
Utah	1,338	1,002	+336
Vermont	292	178	+114
Virginia	7,627	6,435	+1,192
Washington	3,863	2,308	+1,555
West Virginia	956	760	+196
Wisconsin	2,213	1,525	+688
Wyoming	312	283	+29

Migration between Tennessee 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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