Migration

Migration is one of two factors influencing population growth (the other is natural increase).

Migration is shown in the data as a net figure: the calculation of gross in-migration (people moving into an area) and gross out-migration (people moving out of that area). If net migration is positive, there are more people moving into an area than moving out.

Census Bureau Migration Estimates and Flows

Migration Estimates

The Census Bureau tracks domestic migration (from other places within the United States) and international migration. Their estimates of international migration are comprised of: legal immigration from abroad; net undocumented immigration from abroad; emigration; and net movement between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland.

Components of Population Change Overview (or time series)
Data for states, Indiana counties and regions
- Note: Data for the decennial years 2000, 2010 and 2020 cover only a three-month period of those years (April through June). In other words, there is a nine-month break in this time series. For example, no data are available for the period between July 2019 and April 2020.
- Learn more about the population estimates data
Indiana Counties Historical Data
- 1990s data (CSV file)
- 1980s data (Text file)
States Historical Data
- 1990s data (CSV file)
- 1980s data (Text file)

State-to-State and County-to-County Migration Flows

Since migration data are no longer collected as part of the decennial census, current migration flow data are available from the the American Community Survey. The survey asks respondents age 1 year and over whether they lived in the same residence 1 year ago. For people who lived in a different residence, the location of their previous residence is collected.

Census 2000 County-to-County Migration Flows

These migration data come from Census 2000 and indicate the number of people (age 5 and older) in a county and where that person lived in 1995. The Excel files below contain information on the inflows and outflows for Indiana from counties across the nation.

IRS Nationwide Migration Flow Files (Internal Revenue Service)

The State-to-State and County-to-County migration data are updated annually and based on the year-to-year changes in the addresses shown on the population of returns from the IRS Master File system. Excel files present data on migration patterns by state for the entire United States, including inflows and outflows. Aggregate money amounts are in thousands of dollars and median money amounts are in whole dollars.