San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 105,675 people moved into the San Diego metro and 124,400 moved out, a net of −18,725. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: more arrivals come from Los Angeles, CA than anywhere else: 15,106 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Riverside, CA (15,011).
- Trend: net outflow has eased over the last three years, from −26,240 in 2020–21 to −18,725 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
3,282,248
▼ 0.2% year over year · shrinking
Peak population · 2018
3,332,483
1.5% below the 2018 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic outflow led the population decline in 2025: −23,876, against births minus deaths (+12,462) and international migration (+6,132).
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 3,332,483 in 2018. The 2025 estimate of 3,282,248 is 1.5% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$209M
▼ $6.1B arrived · $6.3B left
Avg household income · movers
$90k in · $86k out
arrivals out-earn leavers by 5%
San Diego wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the San Diego metro in 2022–23 reported $6.1B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $6.3B with them, a net loss of $209M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $90k of income, vs $86k for leavers. Arrivals out-earn leavers by 5%.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 91% of inbound and 89% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
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