BETHPAGE, NY – Missouri welcomed 139,000 new residents in 2023 and ranked No. 20 in net migration.
That’s according to a new study by RoadRunner Auto Transport, a leading nationwide vehicle shipping provider, connecting customers with a network of over 25,000 certified carriers.
Its report, based on U.S. Census Bureau information, and its own experience, shows most of Missouri’s net gain of 7,971 domestic migrants in 2023, came from across the river as Illinois sent 7,470, or 94 percent of the state’s entire net gain.
The Illinois→Missouri corridor moved 18,362 people while only 10,892 Missourians moved east, as Chicago-area residents fled to Kansas City and St. Louis suburbs.
In all, Missouri gains from 21 states, including Colorado (+3,642), California (+3,642), and New York (+2,802). However, Kansas captures 3,214 net residents from Missouri via Kansas City metro churn.
Missouri has quietly established itself as a Heartland migration winner, posting positive net domestic migration that places it among the top 20 growth states nationally. The Show-Me State’s combination of affordable housing in Kansas City and St. Louis metros, central location, diversified economy spanning healthcare, finance, and logistics, and proximity to struggling Illinois creates a compelling value proposition.
Most remarkably, Missouri’s entire net gain essentially comes from a single source: Illinois, where high taxes and Chicago’s challenges push residents across the border to Missouri’s lower-cost communities.
Yet Missouri’s migration story is complex, while it wins big from Illinois and coastal states, it loses population to Kansas, Texas, and Sun Belt destinations.
This study, conducted by RoadRunner Auto Transport, analyzed U.S. Census Bureau State-to-State Migration Flows from the 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, examining all 2,295 unique state-to-state corridors across 51 jurisdictions. This Missouri-focused analysis examines who is moving to the Show-Me State, where Missourians are departing to, and what the net population shifts reveal about Missouri’s position as a Heartland migration hub.
Click here for the complete report:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q_dEbymrMDhSDiiS9gAnbGDB-xz-qlmoqAJZbqrL5Fo/edit?tab=t.0
RoadRunner Auto Transport is a leading nationwide vehicle shipping provider, connecting customers with a network of over 25,000 certified carriers. Specializing in safe, reliable transport for cars, SUVs, and trucks, RoadRunner leverages data-driven logistics to navigate complex routes, including severe winter conditions, to ensure every vehicle arrives safely. For more information, visit www.roadrunnerautotransport.com
Source: U.S. Census Bureau State-to-State Migration Flows, 2024 ACS.