Migration to and from Cleveland County, North Carolina
Where Cleveland County residents came from and where they went over the 5-year window 2016-2020. Census ACS County-to-County Migration Flows, 2020 5-yr (frozen vintage).
Total inflow
5,681
people moved in (5-yr)
Total outflow
4,352
people moved out (5-yr)
Net migration
+1,329
inflow minus outflow
Top 10 counties people moved IN from
| Origin | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Gaston County | North Carolina | 1,076 |
| Mecklenburg County | North Carolina | 473 |
| Spartanburg County | South Carolina | 406 |
| Rutherford County | North Carolina | 214 |
| Erie County | New York | 183 |
| Buffalo City | Erie County, New York | 183 |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia | 169 |
| Cherokee County | South Carolina | 160 |
| Forsyth County | North Carolina | 125 |
| Seminole County | Florida | 124 |
Top 10 counties people moved OUT to
| Destination | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Gaston County | North Carolina | 811 |
| Rutherford County | North Carolina | 384 |
| Mecklenburg County | North Carolina | 185 |
| Smith County | Texas | 171 |
| Guilford County | North Carolina | 163 |
| Alamance County | North Carolina | 146 |
| Duplin County | North Carolina | 142 |
| Kershaw County | South Carolina | 130 |
| Jackson County | North Carolina | 113 |
| Forsyth County | North Carolina | 83 |
Explore Cleveland County
- Business data for Cleveland CountyConstruction sector establishments, employment, payroll
- Cities in North CarolinaACS demographic profiles for places statewide
- ZIP code lookupSearch demographic data by ZIP code
- Opportunity IndexRank counties by business growth potential
- Federal contracts in NCGovBids: RFPs, awards, NAICS matching
- New business filings in North CarolinaNewFilings: fresh SOS registrations
Methodology
- Counts represent the number of people aged 1+ who reported a different residence at the survey reference date than they did one year earlier, aggregated across the 5-year sample window 2016-2020.
- Outbound (OUT) flows are reported less frequently than inbound (IN) because the survey captures the destination side of each move. Many county pairs have null OUT counts, which is normal.
- "Total inflow" sums the published MOVEDIN counts across all origin counties, including foreign-region inflows (Africa, Asia, Central America, etc.). It is not the same as net population change.
- Frozen vintage. The Census Bureau has not released a newer county-to-county migration flows file. The 2020 5-yr vintage (covering 2016-2020) is the latest available as of build date.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, County-to-County Migration Flows: 2016-2020. Vintage: 2020 5-yr. Generated: 2026-05-28. FIPS: 37045.