Geographical Mobility/Migration

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual national survey collected monthly which provides communities with reliable and timely demographic, housing, social, and economic data every year.

Annual data on Migration is used to determine the extent of residential mobility of the population for the U.S., states, metropolitan areas, and more specific geographical areas that meet minimum population sizes for the given survey year. Data are available from 2000 to the present.

Data Tables, Products and Reports

State-to-State Migration Flows

County-to-County Migration Flows

Geographical Mobility: 2008 to 2009 

• Report [PDF - 118K]

Lifetime Mobility in the United States: 2010 (ACS) 

• Report [PDF - 8.7K]

2006 ACS Content Test Report P.3: Evaluation Report Covering Residence 1-Year Ago (Migration)

Domestic Migration Flows for States from the 2005 ACS [PDF - 141K]

Available Tabulations

There are more than 25 annual recurring tables on American FactFinder: migration available from American FactFinder since 2000.

Single year estimates for areas size 65,000 and larger are available beginning in 2006 (for data year 2005). Three-year estimates for areas size 20,000 and larger are available beginning in 2008 (for data years 2005-7). Five-year estimates for census groups and larger are available beginning in 2010 (for data years 2005-9).

Other Technical Papers and Presentations

Comparison of ACS and ASEC Data on Geographical Mobility: 2004 [PDF - 93K]

Calculating Migration Expectancy Through example and worksheet, this site explains how to calculate estimates on the average number of moves people make in a lifetime..

Migration Information Sheet
The Migration information sheet [PDF - 135K] highlights the legal requirements, federal, state, and local uses of the American Community Survey data as well as the history of each question.

Migration Fact Sheet
The Migration fact sheet highlights the differences between the Migration Estimates from the American Community Survey and the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

Related Papers and Presentations

Migration Patterns and Mover Characteristics from the 2005 ACS Gulf Coast Area Special Products  Presented at the Southern Demographic Association Conference, Durham, North Carolina, November 2-4, 2006.

• Paper
• Detailed Tables [XLS - 102K]
• Presentation [PPT - 132K]