Migration to and from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Where Mecklenburg 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
91,501
people moved in (5-yr)
Total outflow
77,407
people moved out (5-yr)
Net migration
+14,094
inflow minus outflow
Top 10 counties people moved IN from
| Origin | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Union County | North Carolina | 4,320 |
| Asia | 3,628 | |
| York County | South Carolina | 2,688 |
| Cabarrus County | North Carolina | 2,420 |
| Central America | 1,972 | |
| Gaston County | North Carolina | 1,961 |
| Guilford County | North Carolina | 1,911 |
| Wake County | North Carolina | 1,862 |
| Iredell County | North Carolina | 1,264 |
| Forsyth County | North Carolina | 1,124 |
Top 10 counties people moved OUT to
| Destination | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Union County | North Carolina | 6,192 |
| Cabarrus County | North Carolina | 4,327 |
| York County | South Carolina | 4,175 |
| Gaston County | North Carolina | 3,062 |
| Wake County | North Carolina | 2,399 |
| Iredell County | North Carolina | 1,829 |
| Lancaster County | South Carolina | 1,756 |
| Richland County | South Carolina | 1,599 |
| Guilford County | North Carolina | 1,327 |
| New Hanover County | North Carolina | 1,090 |
Explore Mecklenburg County
- Business data for Mecklenburg 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: 37119.