Migration

Overview

How the Census deals with migration data.

Overview
Indicators
Methodology

This set of tables appears very complicated, but breaks down into two major groups:

Tables based on where people live now, some of whom moved in the last year
Tables based on where people lived a year ago, some of whom have since moved

In general, geographic mobility breaks down into these groups:

Total
Same house 1 year ago
Moved within same county
Moved from different county within same state
Moved from different state
Moved from abroad

These, then are broken into (in separate tables):

Age in five-year buckets
Median age
Sex
Race (each race is in its own table)
Citizenship
Education
Individual income
Median income
Poverty status
Tenure, or length of time living at the same house

There are also a small number of tables which support analysis for different kinds of mobility, such as in and out of regions, metropolitan areas, states and counties.

Should I use American Community Survey data for this?

The IRS also provides data about county-to-county migration, based on aggregate information from individual tax returns. There are some limitations of the data that are important to note. People who are not required to file income tax returns are excluded from the data, meaning the poor and the elderly are underrepresented. The data also excludes late filers (a small percentage of tax returns filed after late September of the filing year), and these taxpayers are more likely to be very wealthy, so they may be underrepresented as well. (More information on the strengths and limitations of the data is available on the IRS website.) However, data analysis expert Aaron Renn says "This is the best source of data available, in my opinion, because it is place to place, the data set of tax returns is so large, and income data is included. This data lets you map where people are moving from and where they are moving to at a reasonably granular level."

All data sources are from the American Community Survey unless otherwise noted.

Indicators on the Profile Page	Why It's Important
Moved since previous year Population migration since previous year	This dataset illustrates the mobility of a population, which can also speak to the stability of a community and the population that lives there. These data points show how many residents currently living in the neighborhood changed housing units in the previous year. In combination with the “Year Moved In” data earlier in the profile, this information is critical to understanding how well an area’s residents can access stable housing, and which areas might be more in need of assistance in this regard.

Indicators on the Profile Page

Why It's Important

Geographical mobility

Moved since previous year
Population migration since previous year

This dataset illustrates the mobility of a population, which can also speak to the stability of a community and the population that lives there.
These data points show how many residents currently living in the neighborhood changed housing units in the previous year. In combination with the “Year Moved In” data earlier in the profile, this information is critical to understanding how well an area’s residents can access stable housing, and which areas might be more in need of assistance in this regard.

Methodology

American Community Survey Data

From the Census: Why We Ask: Residence 1 Year Ago/Migration

Sample Survey Questions on this Topic

Code	Title
Migration
B07001^‡^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Age for Current Residence in the United States
B07002^§	Median Age by Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence in the United States
B07003^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Sex for Current Residence in the United States
B07004A^†^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence in the United States
B07007^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Current Residence in the United States
B07008^‡^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Marital Status for Current Residence in the United States
B07009^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Educational Attainment for Current Residence in the United States
B07010^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Individual Income for Current Residence in the United States
B07011^§	Median Income by Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence in the United States
B07012^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Poverty Status for Current Residence in the United States
B07013^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Tenure for Current Residence in the United States
B07101	Movers Between Regions in the United States
B07201^‡^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence--Metropolitan Statistical Area Level in the United States
B07202^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence--Micropolitan Statistical Area Level in the United States
B07203^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence--not Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area Level in the United States
B07204^‡^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Current Residence--State, County and Place Level in the United States
B07401^‡^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Age for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07402^§	Median Age by Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07403^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Sex for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07404A^†^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07407^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07408^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Marital Status for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07409^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Educational Attainment for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07410^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Individual Income for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07411^§	Median Income by Geographical Mobility in the Past Year for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07412^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Poverty Status for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B07413^§	Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Tenure for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
^†Also available in racial iterations. ^‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code. ^§Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version.