Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 68,768 people moved into the Virginia Beach metro and 72,872 moved out, a net of −4,104. 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: Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV leads both directions, with 3,530 people in and 3,472 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 35–36% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has deepened over the last three years, from −2,802 in 2020–21 to −4,104 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
1,797,213
▲ 0.2% year over year · growing
Peak population
1,797,213
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: the population grew in 2025 even after losing 2,241 people to domestic migration. International migration (+3,486) and births minus deaths (+2,534) more than made up for it.
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 1,797,213 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$125M
▼ $2.5B arrived · $2.6B left
Avg household income · movers
$64k in · $65k out
similar incomes both directions
Virginia Beach wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Virginia Beach metro in 2022–23 reported $2.5B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $2.6B with them, a net loss of $125M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $64k of income, vs $65k 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 35% of inbound and 36% 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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