Raleigh-Cary migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 73,689 people moved into the Raleigh metro and 60,200 moved out, a net of +13,489. 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 Durham, NC than anywhere else: 8,134 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Rest of North Carolina (9,366).
- Trend: net inflow has cooled over the last three years, from +16,821 in 2020–21 to +13,489 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
1,595,720
▲ 2.4% year over year · growing
Peak population
1,595,720
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +19,974 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (+7,477) and international migration (+9,389).
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 1,595,720 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$633M
▲ $3.6B arrived · $3.0B left
Avg household income · movers
$83k in · $82k out
similar incomes both directions
Raleigh wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Raleigh metro in 2022–23 reported $3.6B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $3.0B with them, a net gain of $633M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $83k of income, vs $82k for leavers. Arriving and leaving households report similar incomes.
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 79% of inbound and 78% 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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