Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 12,474 people moved into the Hickory metro and 9,362 moved out, a net of +3,112. 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: Charlotte, NC-SC leads both directions, with 3,781 people in and 2,655 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 43–44% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net inflow has held roughly steady over the last three years, from +2,924 in 2020–21 to +3,112 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
376,890
▲ 0.9% year over year · growing
Peak population
376,890
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +4,447 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (−1,383) and international migration (+490).
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 376,890 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$145M
▲ $467M arrived · $322M left
Avg household income · movers
$66k in · $57k out
arrivals out-earn leavers by 16%
Hickory wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Hickory metro in 2022–23 reported $467M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $322M with them, a net gain of $145M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $66k of income, vs $57k for leavers. Arrivals out-earn leavers by 16%.
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 44% of inbound and 43% 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.
← All North Carolina migration · other North Carolina metros
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