Who's moving to WA, and who's leaving? Here's what the data shows

After I recently wrote about the states Washington is gaining and losing the most residents from, I received some questions from readers: Who exactly are these folks moving here, and who’s moving away?

To find out, I dug into the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, looking at the annual averages from 2020 to 2024 for adults 18 and older.

At first glance, the overall numbers are practically a wash: 191,000 adults moved to Washington each year, versus 193,000 who moved away. While I didn’t include children in this analysis, the data show that more kids left than arrived - around 40,000 versus 33,000.

When you look closer at the adults coming and going, some demographic differences emerge.

Let’s start with gender. Of the adults moving into Washington during this period, 52% were men. Among those leaving, 51% were women. That pencils out to a net gain of about 5,000 men per year from domestic migration, and a net loss of more than 6,000 women annually.

Why the imbalance? The greater number of men moving here likely stems from the Seattle area’s prominent tech industry, which continues to draw more men than women. According to the latest census data, about 75% of tech professionals in our region are men.

It’s a demographic fact that younger people move a lot more often than older people, whether they are going off to college, establishing careers, seeking new jobs or navigating changing family dynamics.

Even so, the data shows that newcomers to Washington skewed younger than those heading for the exits. Seventy percent of all adults migrating here were under 40, compared with just 63% of those leaving.

Washington also continues to attract a highly educated workforce. Among people who moved here ages 25 and older, nearly 55% had graduated from college. Among those who moved away, slightly less than half - 49% - held a college diploma.

But Washington appears to be less appealing to families than to young singles.

About 43% of adults who moved away were married, compared with 38% of those moving in. Similarly, adults with children in their households accounted for 25% of the out-migration, compared with 22% of new arrivals. That isn’t too surprising, given the steep cost of raising kids in Washington compared to many other parts of the country.

The share of adults who were divorced, separated or widowed was also slightly larger among those who left (14%) than among those who arrived (12%).

These domestic migration patterns are also shifting Washington’s racial and ethnic makeup. This is particularly evident in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, which make up over 14% of newcomers, but less than 9% of those leaving. White residents account for roughly 69% of those moving out, but only 61% of those moving in.

New arrivals from other states were also more likely to be immigrants. Nearly 20% of newcomers were born outside the United States, compared to less than 15% of those who moved away.

Lastly, a significant share of people who grew up here seem to find that their best next step is elsewhere. Of the people packing up and leaving the state, 22% were born right here in Washington. By comparison, only about 15% of arrivals are people born in Washington returning home.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 6:40 AM.