Bismarck migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 4,223 people moved into the Bismarck metro and 4,176 moved out, a net of +47. 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 Rest of North Dakota than anywhere else: 596 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Fargo, ND-MN (408). The listed corridors cover about 28–29% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net inflow has strengthened over the last three years, from +32 in 2020–21 to +47 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
139,750
▲ 0.8% year over year · growing
Peak population
139,750
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: growth is led by international migration (+478); domestic migration added +358 in 2025.
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 139,750 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$7M
▼ $158M arrived · $165M left
Avg household income · movers
$61k in · $65k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 7%
Bismarck wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Bismarck metro in 2022–23 reported $158M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $165M with them, a net loss of $7M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $61k of income, vs $65k 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 29% of inbound and 28% 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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