California vs Iowa: which way are people moving?

Name: California vs Iowa: which way are people moving?
Creator: Moved Where

Toward Iowa. In 2022–23, 1,123 more people moved from California to Iowa than the other way.

Compare

with

Year

Iowa → California2,063 people

Arrivals' income: $67.7k avg income reported on the second-year tax return

California → Iowa3,186 people

Leavers' income: $67.8k avg income reported on the second-year tax return

5,249 people moved between the two, one way or the other.

Has it always been this way?

No. California came out ahead every year until 2015–16. Since 2016–17, more have moved to Iowa.

Net between the two · households (tax returns)

Net moves between California and Iowa (Net between the two · households (tax returns))
Year	Value
2013–14	+103
2014–15 †	+130
2015–16	+14
2016–17 †	−25
2017–18	−72
2018–19	−20
2019–20	−407
2020–21	−647
2021–22	−334
2022–23 †	−479

IRS processing changes in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23. The 2016–17 turn lands on one of those years, so part of it may be the method.

The two states overall

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

California page →

Iowa

Net change, all states: −1,467
Moved in · moved out: 57,011 · 58,478
Arrivals' income · leavers' income (reported on the second-year tax return): $61.6k · $64.9k

Iowa page →

People, 2022–23, moves between states.

Every year, in full

Moves between Iowa and California, 2013–14 to 2022–23. Tap a column to sort.

Swipe for households and income →


	People			Households		Avg income per household (income reported on the second-year tax return)
2013–14	2,624	2,692	−68	1,513	1,410	$45.3k	$47.1k
2014–15 †	1,827	1,859	−32	1,105	975	$45.2k	$42.2k
2015–16	2,532	2,841	−309	1,488	1,474	$58.6k	$53.9k
2016–17 †	3,400	3,784	−384	1,970	1,995	$59.5k	$55.7k
2017–18	2,499	2,940	−441	1,510	1,582	$54.2k	$53.6k
2018–19	2,379	2,706	−327	1,455	1,475	$53.9k	$63.3k
2019–20	2,245	3,312	−1,067	1,356	1,763	$57.9k	$66.1k
2020–21	2,343	3,598	−1,255	1,510	2,157	$62.0k	$55.5k
2021–22	2,380	3,342	−962	1,552	1,886	$63.5k	$75.3k
2022–23 †	2,063	3,186	−1,123	1,351	1,830	$67.7k	$67.8k

† Processing-break years. Read changes across a † row with care.

Cite this comparison

Moved Where. “California vs Iowa: which way are people moving?” movedwhere.com/compare/california-vs-iowa. Data: IRS Statistics of Income migration data, 2022–23.