Columbia migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 33,935 people moved into the Columbia metro and 28,459 moved out, a net of +5,476. 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 Charlotte, NC-SC than anywhere else: 2,524 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Rest of South Carolina (2,115). The listed corridors cover about 52–54% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net inflow has held roughly steady over the last three years, from +6,414 in 2020–21 to +5,476 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
879,918
▲ 1.0% year over year · growing
Peak population
879,918
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +5,818 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (+613) and international migration (+2,443).
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 879,918 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$137M
▲ $1.1B arrived · $967M left
Avg household income · movers
$60k in · $59k out
similar incomes both directions
Columbia wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Columbia metro in 2022–23 reported $1.1B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $967M with them, a net gain of $137M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $60k of income, vs $59k 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 52% of inbound and 54% 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 South Carolina migration · other South Carolina metros
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