Migration to and from Wilkes County, North Carolina
Where Wilkes 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
1,368
people moved in (5-yr)
Total outflow
2,218
people moved out (5-yr)
Net migration
-850
inflow minus outflow
Top 10 counties people moved IN from
| Origin | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Watauga County | North Carolina | 75 |
| Johnston County | North Carolina | 72 |
| Carteret County | North Carolina | 69 |
| Cecil County | Maryland | 55 |
| Duval County | Florida | 51 |
| Iredell County | North Carolina | 46 |
| New Hanover County | North Carolina | 46 |
| Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | 44 |
| North Cornwall Township | Lebanon County, Pennsylvania | 44 |
| Franklin County | Ohio | 43 |
Top 10 counties people moved OUT to
| Destination | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County | North Carolina | 219 |
| Davidson County | North Carolina | 184 |
| Wilson County | North Carolina | 167 |
| Yadkin County | North Carolina | 155 |
| Surry County | North Carolina | 118 |
| Catawba County | North Carolina | 102 |
| Norfolk City | Virginia | 90 |
| Monroe County | Pennsylvania | 88 |
| Chestnuthill Township | Monroe County, Pennsylvania | 88 |
| Ashe County | North Carolina | 62 |
Explore Wilkes County
- Business data for Wilkes 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: 37193.