Washington-Arlington-Alexandria migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 182,698 people moved into the Washington metro and 211,370 moved out, a net of −28,672. 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: Baltimore, MD leads both directions, with 18,754 people in and 24,031 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 62–65% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has eased over the last three years, from −56,895 in 2020–21 to −28,672 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
6,465,724
▲ 0.8% year over year · growing
Peak population
6,465,724
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: the population grew in 2025 even after losing 23,791 people to domestic migration. International migration (+44,804) and births minus deaths (+29,077) more than made up for it.
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 6,465,724 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$3.3B
▼ $10.2B arrived · $13.5B left
Avg household income · movers
$87k in · $104k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 20%
Washington wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Washington metro in 2022–23 reported $10.2B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $13.5B with them, a net loss of $3.3B.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $87k of income, vs $104k for leavers. Leavers out-earn arrivals by 20%.
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 62% of inbound and 65% 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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