Columbia migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 9,217 people moved into the Columbia metro and 9,234 moved out, a net of −17. 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: Rest of Missouri leads both directions, with 1,245 people in and 968 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 47–48% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has eased over the last three years, from −423 in 2020–21 to −17 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
219,062
▲ 0.4% year over year · growing
Peak population
219,062
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: the population grew in 2025 even after losing 389 people to domestic migration. International migration (+769) and births minus deaths (+502) more than made up for it.
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 219,062 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$25M
▼ $325M arrived · $350M left
Avg household income · movers
$56k in · $60k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 7%
Columbia wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Columbia metro in 2022–23 reported $325M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $350M with them, a net loss of $25M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $56k of income, vs $60k for leavers. Leavers out-earn arrivals by 7%.
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 47% of inbound and 48% 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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