Migration to and from McDowell County, North Carolina
Where McDowell 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
2,206
people moved in (5-yr)
Total outflow
1,614
people moved out (5-yr)
Net migration
+592
inflow minus outflow
Top 10 counties people moved IN from
| Origin | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Burke County | North Carolina | 376 |
| Buncombe County | North Carolina | 305 |
| Mitchell County | North Carolina | 165 |
| Henderson County | North Carolina | 84 |
| Stanly County | North Carolina | 60 |
| Marshall County | Indiana | 58 |
| Durham County | North Carolina | 58 |
| Spartanburg County | South Carolina | 57 |
| Polk County | North Carolina | 51 |
| El Paso County | Colorado | 50 |
Top 10 counties people moved OUT to
| Destination | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County | North Carolina | 307 |
| Macon County | North Carolina | 186 |
| Burke County | North Carolina | 125 |
| Hamblen County | Tennessee | 73 |
| Martin County | North Carolina | 61 |
| Jackson County | North Carolina | 54 |
| Polk County | North Carolina | 54 |
| Moore County | North Carolina | 49 |
| Alexander County | North Carolina | 48 |
| Levy County | Florida | 46 |
Explore McDowell County
- Business data for McDowell 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: 37111.