Is Kentucky gaining or losing people?

Gaining. In 2022–23, 5,861 more people moved to Kentucky from other states than moved away.

See where they came from ↓
Moved in
86,522
people
Moved out
80,661
people
Net change
+5,861 people
In households (tax returns): 48,859 in, 46,701 out, +2,158 net

Where are people moving to Kentucky from?

People, 2022–23

  1. Ohio10,868
  2. Tennessee10,153
  3. Indiana8,822
  4. Florida8,292
  5. Texas4,631
  6. California4,048

Where are people from Kentucky moving?

People, 2022–23

  1. Indiana10,191
  2. Ohio10,139
  3. Tennessee9,714
  4. Florida7,894
  5. Texas4,894
  6. Georgia3,044
Every state, in full ↓

Where Kentucky's newcomers came from across states

Blue lines show arrivals · thicker line = more people

Biggest net gain: California (+1,795 people). Biggest net loss: Indiana (−1,369).

Is this new?

Kentucky has gained households from moves every year since 2019–20, after six years of losses.

Net migration · households (tax returns)
13–1414–1515–1616–1717–1818–1919–2020–2121–22+2,15822–23†††
Net migration of Kentucky (Net migration · households (tax returns))
YearValue
2013–14−3,293
2014–15 †−2,046
2015–16−1,764
2016–17 †−767
2017–18−570
2018–19−1,526
2019–20+1,814
2020–21+2,443
2021–22+2,906
2022–23 †+2,158

The IRS changed its processing in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23. Compare years between the dotted lines.

Who's moving, by income?

Arriving households$60.5k avg
Leaving households$65.7k avg

Average adjusted gross income reported on the second-year tax return. It may have been earned before the move or in more than one location.

Not counted above

Moved within Kentucky
118,852 people
Arrived from abroad
1,127 people
Left for abroad
1,138 people

Net change only counts moves between states.

Which Kentucky counties are gaining?

Adair County: +135 peopleAllen County: +326 peopleAnderson County: +286 peopleBallard County: +132 peopleBarren County: +102 peopleBath County: +37 peopleBell County: −118 peopleBoone County: +647 peopleBourbon County: +110 peopleBoyd County: +133 peopleBoyle County: +4 peopleBracken County: +6 peopleBreathitt County: −173 peopleBreckinridge County: +9 peopleBullitt County: +678 peopleButler County: −123 peopleCaldwell County: −73 peopleCalloway County: −2 peopleCampbell County: −45 peopleCarlisle County: −72 peopleCarroll County: −35 peopleCarter County: +199 peopleCasey County: +30 peopleChristian County: −839 peopleClark County: +215 peopleClay County: −123 peopleClinton County: +36 peopleCrittenden County: −27 peopleCumberland County: +104 peopleDaviess County: +89 peopleEdmonson County: +165 peopleElliott County: −73 peopleEstill County: +141 peopleFayette County: −1,718 peopleFleming County: +13 peopleFloyd County: −218 peopleFranklin County: +151 peopleFulton County: −32 peopleGallatin County: +31 peopleGarrard County: +180 peopleGrant County: −27 peopleGraves County: +1 peopleGrayson County: +172 peopleGreen County: +213 peopleGreenup County: +102 peopleHancock County: −39 peopleHardin County: −284 peopleHarlan County: +25 peopleHarrison County: +328 peopleHart County: +117 peopleHenderson County: +200 peopleHenry County: +94 peopleHickman County: +13 peopleHopkins County: −40 peopleJackson County: +160 peopleJefferson County: −3,973 peopleJessamine County: +403 peopleJohnson County: +14 peopleKenton County: +388 peopleKnott County: −6 peopleKnox County: +16 peopleLarue County: 0 peopleLaurel County: +384 peopleLawrence County: −88 peopleLee County: −17 peopleLeslie County: −54 peopleLetcher County: −151 peopleLewis County: +78 peopleLincoln County: +281 peopleLivingston County: +3 peopleLogan County: +332 peopleLyon County: +145 peopleMcCracken County: +253 peopleMcCreary County: +90 peopleMcLean County: −6 peopleMadison County: +1,265 peopleMagoffin County: −17 peopleMarion County: −7 peopleMarshall County: +182 peopleMartin County: −40 peopleMason County: +76 peopleMeade County: +193 peopleMenifee County: +114 peopleMercer County: +282 peopleMetcalfe County: +43 peopleMonroe County: −55 peopleMontgomery County: +62 peopleMorgan County: −23 peopleMuhlenberg County: +93 peopleNelson County: +183 peopleNicholas County: −84 peopleOhio County: +160 peopleOldham County: +423 peopleOwen County: +39 peopleOwsley County: +26 peoplePendleton County: +75 peoplePerry County: −68 peoplePike County: −30 peoplePowell County: +30 peoplePulaski County: +527 peopleRobertson County: +14 peopleRockcastle County: +22 peopleRowan County: −38 peopleRussell County: +125 peopleScott County: +483 peopleShelby County: +287 peopleSimpson County: +305 peopleSpencer County: +225 peopleTaylor County: +143 peopleTodd County: +66 peopleTrigg County: +152 peopleTrimble County: +54 peopleUnion County: −54 peopleWarren County: +685 peopleWashington County: +106 peopleWayne County: +12 peopleWebster County: −34 peopleWhitley County: +22 peopleWolfe County: −71 peopleWoodford County: +223 people

Net people, 2022–23, including moves within the state.

  1. ≤ −5k
  2. −5k to −1k
  3. −1k to −100
  4. −100 to +100
  5. +100 to +1k
  6. +1k to +5k
  7. ≥ +5k
Withheld

Growing most

  1. Madison County+1,265
  2. Warren County+685
  3. Bullitt County+678
  4. Boone County+647
  5. Pulaski County+527
  6. Scott County+483

Losing most

  1. Jefferson County−3,973
  2. Fayette County−1,718
  3. Christian County−839
  4. Hardin County−284
  5. Floyd County−218
  6. Breathitt County−173

Every state, in full

Moves between Kentucky and each state, 2022–23. Tap a column to sort.

Net trendhouseholds, 13–14 → 22–23, † breaks
Ohio10,868 in10,139 out+729$61.1k$57.0k
Tennessee10,153 in9,714 out+439$53.4k$55.6k
Indiana8,822 in10,191 out−1,369$52.4k$56.7k
Florida8,292 in7,894 out+398$58.2k$111.7k
Texas4,631 in4,894 out−263$65.5k$70.5k
California4,048 in2,253 out+1,795$76.3k$67.5k
Illinois3,326 in2,883 out+443$63.9k$62.1k
Georgia2,945 in3,044 out−99$58.5k$60.6k
North Carolina2,740 in2,755 out−15$60.9k$69.1k
Michigan2,187 in1,973 out+214$60.7k$57.8k

Small charts: net households, 13–14 → 22–23, outlined bars = † years.

All counties in Kentucky

Counties and county equivalents, including historical geographies.

Cite this page

Moved Where. “Is Kentucky gaining or losing people?” movedwhere.com/state/kentucky. Data: IRS Statistics of Income migration data, 2022–23.

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Common questions

How many people moved to Kentucky in 2022–23?

86,522 people moved to Kentucky from other states, and 80,661 left for other states.

Where do most people moving to Kentucky come from?

In 2022–23, the most came from Ohio (10,868 people), Tennessee (10,153 people), Indiana (8,822 people).

Where does this data come from?

From the IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data. State migration is counted when matched tax returns filed in 2022 and 2023 show addresses in different states. A household is one tax return; people counts everyone on it. Non-filers and unmatched returns are excluded. Domestic net migration is not total population change.

Why are there no “vs last year” changes?

The IRS changed how it processed this data in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23, so a change from one year to the next can reflect the method rather than real moves. We show levels, rankings and 10-year trends instead.