Where do District residents come from, and where are they going?
This is not a question of philosophy. I’m speaking literally.
Inspired by a recent New York Times feature on movement of people between states, the District’s Office of Revenue Analysis has dug into IRS migration data to determine, state-by-state, where D.C. denizens are moving to, and where they are coming from.
The gist: D.C. is, for the most part, where people either want to, or have to, move. It’s reflected in the city’s population surge, from roughly 600,000 in 2010 to nearly 650,000 in 2013, in the recent apartment building boom, and in the explosive growth of certain neighborhoods — from Capitol Riverfront to NoMa to Petworth.
Using tax exemptions for 2010-2011 claimed by filers who moved, the ORA found while people moved from D.C. to every state, and to D.C. from every state, it is Maryland and the District that share residents most frequently.
In the year studied, Maryland delivered 12,422 new residents to D.C., and garnered 15,005 new residents from D.C. — a net positive, for The Free State, of 2,583. Only five other states snagged more D.C. residents than they gave: Mississippi (176), Louisiana (39), Wyoming (27), West Virginia (6) and Kentucky (4).
What does Mississippi have that drove 251 people to exit the District for it? Cost of living, for one. Mississippi has the lowest cost of living in the United States. D.C. is in the top two for most expensive places to reside.
According to the data, 6,876 Virginians left the commonwealth for D.C. in 2010-2011, while 6,488 District residents left for Virginia, a net positive for the nation’s capital of 388 — the most of any state.
The Eastern Seaboard delivered D.C. most of its net growth in mover-driven population that year. Virginia was followed by New Jersey (383 net gain for the District), Massachusetts (381), Pennsylvania (330), Florida (281) and New York (261).
California captured 1,788 former District residents, and sent 1,901 people east. North Carolina delivered 1,004 people to D.C., while 814 D.C. residents left for the Tar Heel State.
There were many smaller players, too, in this game of moving chairs. Twenty-two people moved from Idaho to D.C. in 2010, and 19 people moved from D.C. to Idaho. South Dakota delivered 23 new residents to D.C., while the District sent 19 people to South Dakota. Montana sent 47 people D.C.’s way, Utah 94, Nevada 77, Iowa 94 and Maine 89.
If you’re a current D.C. resident, or a former D.C. resident, where did you come from? Or where did you go? Leave your replies in the comments.
