Wilmington migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 27,747 people moved into the Wilmington metro and 17,702 moved out, a net of +10,045. 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 Raleigh, NC than anywhere else: 2,123 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Rest of North Carolina (1,267). The listed corridors cover about 44–49% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net inflow has cooled over the last three years, from +12,628 in 2020–21 to +10,045 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
492,772
▲ 2.6% year over year · growing
Peak population
492,772
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +12,719 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (−820) and international migration (+586).
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 492,772 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$853M
▲ $1.6B arrived · $745M left
Avg household income · movers
$96k in · $67k out
arrivals out-earn leavers by 43%
Wilmington wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Wilmington metro in 2022–23 reported $1.6B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $745M with them, a net gain of $853M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $96k of income, vs $67k for leavers. Arrivals out-earn leavers by 43%.
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 49% of inbound and 44% 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
Every mover in Wilmington is a future client
Shilo's AI listens to your calls, grades them, and shows you where deals slip away, so your next call is sharper.
