by James A. Bacon
I’ve frequently made the observation that Virginia has been leaking population through domestic migration. However, as recent data published by Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business make clear, the loss of population through domestic migration is more than offset by net international migration. Between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, Virginia lost nearly 30,000 people through domestic migration, but gained nearly 53,000 through international migration.
That data (shown in the table above) and more can be found in ODU’s 2023 State of the Commonwealth report on Virginia’s economy.
Perhaps the most interesting data tell us the states where people are coming from and the states where Virginians are going to. As can be seen in the tables below, people moving to Virginia in 2021 came mainly from the northeast — New Jersey is at the top of the list — and they’re moving mainly to southern states.
Where they’re coming from…
And where they’re going…
Perhaps most remarkable is the net migration of Virginians to Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia — states not on many peoples’ list of lands of economic opportunity.
The loss of population to West Virginia might be explainable by Northern Virginians’ search for affordable housing. But when a net 5,000 people chose Alabama and Mississippi over Virginia in a single year, something is seriously amiss in the Old Dominion.
