IRS data shows migration to North Carolina in droves

(The Center Square) – While residents are pouring out of states like California, New York and Massachusetts, they are coming to North Carolina in droves, according to new U.S. Internal Revenue Service numbers.

North Carolina ranked third for the most in-bound migration, according to the numbers, with the state showing a net gain of 82,620 people from 2021-2022, the IRS said.

Florida (245,334) and Texas (180,870) had more than twice as many.

North Carolina attracted the most residents from Florida, Virginia and New York, the data shows.

With declining birth rates in the U.S., migration is the primary source of population change in states, says Nathan T. Dollar, director of Carolina Demography at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Carolina Population Center in an interview with The Center Square.

“North Carolina’s population has grown substantially over the past several decades and continues to grow,” he said. “Fertility is on the decline everywhere. That means that the primary driver of population change now is migration."

Some of the growth to North Carolina has been “amenity migrants” who decided to retire there, Dollar said. Family reunification is another factor, as parents moved closer to where their children live.

But jobs are the main reason people move, Dollar said.

“Most people worldwide move for purposes of work,” he said. “People want to go to where there are economic opportunities, and they can live comfortably.”

The cost of living in North Carolina has been relatively low compared to other states, although that is changing as the state’s population increases, Dollar said.

Businesses are attracted to North Carolina because of a strong university system and a well-trained workforce.

“Businesses are rational actors,” Dollar said. “They move to where the bottom line will be lowest and also, they will have access to a trained workforce to fill their needs.”

North Carolina has a robust 58-member community college system and a growing population.

Dollar said lower taxes are probably not a major factor in individual decisions to move to another state since, in many cases, residents are moving to expensive urban areas with high taxes.

However, for businesses, taxes could make a difference in the decision to locate offices or factories in another state.

“I think that economic incentives must play a role a role in those decisions,” he said. “But if you are trying to attract really high-skilled workers, they also want to move to places where the quality of life going to be good, where there are good K-12 schools.”

North Carolina in two consecutive years has been obtained CNBC's top ranking for the network’s America’s Top States for Business . It also in 2023 became the 10th state, and first without a Republican trifecta government, to pass universal school choice .