Alabama vs California: which way are people moving?
Toward Alabama. In 2022–23, 1,832 more people moved from California to Alabama than the other way.
Has it always been this way?
No. California came out ahead every year until 2014–15. Since 2015–16, more have moved to Alabama.
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2013–14 | −23 |
| 2014–15 † | −63 |
| 2015–16 | +24 |
| 2016–17 † | +312 |
| 2017–18 | +418 |
| 2018–19 | +383 |
| 2019–20 | +780 |
| 2020–21 | +1,091 |
| 2021–22 | +1,189 |
| 2022–23 † | +753 |
IRS processing changes in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23. The 2015–16 turn falls between them.
The two states overall
Alabama
- Net change, all states
- +16,337
- Moved in · moved out
- 102,902 · 86,565
- Arrivals' income · leavers' income (reported on the second-year tax return)
- $66.5k · $63.9k
California
- Net change, all states
- −200,547
- Moved in · moved out
- 389,700 · 590,247
- Arrivals' income · leavers' income (reported on the second-year tax return)
- $95.5k · $102.1k
Every year, in full
| People | Households | Avg income per household (income reported on the second-year tax return) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | 3,255 | 3,007 | +248 | 1,567 | 1,590 | $54.3k | $50.1k |
| 2014–15 † | 2,274 | 2,198 | +76 | 1,169 | 1,232 | $47.6k | $48.4k |
| 2015–16 | 3,202 | 2,864 | +338 | 1,568 | 1,544 | $66.7k | $61.6k |
| 2016–17 † | 4,494 | 3,459 | +1,035 | 2,226 | 1,914 | $58.5k | $53.0k |
| 2017–18 | 3,936 | 2,797 | +1,139 | 1,949 | 1,531 | $63.9k | $52.6k |
| 2018–19 | 3,876 | 2,775 | +1,101 | 1,926 | 1,543 | $81.0k | $60.4k |
| 2019–20 | 4,593 | 2,743 | +1,850 | 2,282 | 1,502 | $79.8k | $57.3k |
| 2020–21 | 4,876 | 2,374 | +2,502 | 2,492 | 1,401 | $77.3k | $62.2k |
| 2021–22 | 5,422 | 2,556 | +2,866 | 2,768 | 1,579 | $91.7k | $70.6k |
| 2022–23 † | 4,462 | 2,630 | +1,832 | 2,342 | 1,589 | $74.2k | $69.9k |
Cite this comparison
Moved Where. “Alabama vs California: which way are people moving?” movedwhere.com/compare/alabama-vs-california. Data: IRS Statistics of Income migration data, 2022–23.