Milwaukee-Waukesha migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 33,276 people moved into the Milwaukee metro and 36,878 moved out, a net of −3,602. 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 Chicago, IL-IN than anywhere else: 3,235 people in 2022–23. The top destination for leavers is Rest of Wisconsin (3,527). The listed corridors cover about 61–64% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has eased over the last three years, from −8,735 in 2020–21 to −3,602 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
1,575,010
▲ 0.2% year over year · growing
Peak population · 2019
1,577,455
0.2% below the 2019 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: the population grew in 2025 even after losing 2,255 people to domestic migration. International migration (+2,526) and births minus deaths (+2,180) more than made up for it.
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 1,577,455 in 2019. The 2025 estimate of 1,575,010 is 0.2% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$371M
▼ $1.5B arrived · $1.8B left
Avg household income · movers
$67k in · $78k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 16%
Milwaukee wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Milwaukee metro in 2022–23 reported $1.5B in income (AGI). Households leaving took $1.8B with them, a net loss of $371M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $67k of income, vs $78k for leavers. Leavers out-earn arrivals by 16%.
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 61% of inbound and 64% 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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