Migration to and from Wells County, North Dakota
Where Wells 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
169
people moved in (5-yr)
Total outflow
196
people moved out (5-yr)
Net migration
-27
inflow minus outflow
Top 10 counties people moved IN from
| Origin | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Ward County | North Dakota | 98 |
| Walsh County | North Dakota | 46 |
| Crow Wing County | Minnesota | 5 |
| Crosby City | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | 5 |
| Bottineau County | North Dakota | 4 |
| Kandiyohi County | Minnesota | 3 |
| Willmar City | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | 3 |
| Clay County | Minnesota | 1 |
| Cass County | North Dakota | 1 |
| Foster County | North Dakota | 1 |
Top 10 counties people moved OUT to
| Destination | State / Region | People (5-yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Richland County | Montana | 24 |
| Ward County | North Dakota | 21 |
| Bent County | Colorado | 18 |
| Foster County | North Dakota | 18 |
| Burleigh County | North Dakota | 16 |
| Sheridan County | North Dakota | 16 |
| Stutsman County | North Dakota | 15 |
| Benson County | North Dakota | 12 |
| Cape May County | New Jersey | 9 |
| Cape May City | Cape May County, New Jersey | 9 |
Explore Wells County
- Business data for Wells CountyConstruction sector establishments, employment, payroll
- Cities in North DakotaACS demographic profiles for places statewide
- ZIP code lookupSearch demographic data by ZIP code
- Opportunity IndexRank counties by business growth potential
- Federal contracts in NDGovBids: RFPs, awards, NAICS matching
- New business filings in North DakotaNewFilings: 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: 38103.