California vs Washington: which way are people moving?

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

Toward Washington. In 2022–23, 10,343 more people moved from California to Washington than the other way.

Compare

with

Year

Washington → California27,750 people

Arrivals' income: $116.2k avg income reported on the second-year tax return

California → Washington38,093 people

Leavers' income: $111.5k avg income reported on the second-year tax return

California is Washington's biggest moving partner in both directions: 65,843 people moved between the two, one way or the other.

Has it always been this way?

Yes. More households have moved to Washington than to California every year since 2013–14.

Net between the two · households (tax returns)

Net moves between California and Washington (Net between the two · households (tax returns))
Year	Value
2013–14	−3,506
2014–15 †	−3,884
2015–16	−8,615
2016–17 †	−12,589
2017–18	−9,096
2018–19	−8,895
2019–20	−10,451
2020–21	−10,858
2021–22	−9,275
2022–23 †	−6,754

IRS processing changes in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23.

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 →

Washington

Net change, all states: −29
Moved in · moved out: 192,628 · 192,657
Arrivals' income · leavers' income (reported on the second-year tax return): $89.9k · $100.1k

Washington page →

People, 2022–23, moves between states.

Every year, in full

Moves between Washington 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	28,034	35,225	−7,191	14,877	18,383	$70.0k	$70.1k
2014–15 †	19,789	27,516	−7,727	11,126	15,010	$70.0k	$71.0k
2015–16	25,396	42,791	−17,395	14,167	22,782	$80.0k	$84.6k
2016–17 †	35,660	60,589	−24,929	19,598	32,187	$81.8k	$86.9k
2017–18	28,075	44,686	−16,611	16,163	25,259	$83.3k	$97.6k
2018–19	27,199	43,929	−16,730	16,105	25,000	$110.6k	$100.7k
2019–20	28,578	46,551	−17,973	16,548	26,999	$93.4k	$116.5k
2020–21	27,915	46,677	−18,762	16,960	27,818	$102.8k	$134.9k
2021–22	29,096	44,160	−15,064	18,275	27,550	$162.7k	$139.9k
2022–23 †	27,750	38,093	−10,343	17,871	24,625	$116.2k	$111.5k

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

Cite this comparison

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