More people coming than going: Most states in Midwest show net gain from domestic migration

For at least one year, the Midwest has reversed a longtime trend, with the region as a whole gaining population in 2025 due to domestic migration. In early parts of this decade, and in many years prior to it, the Midwest consistently lost people to other regions, especially the South and West.  “While the net domestic migration was a relatively modest 16,000, this is still a notable turnaround from the substantial domestic migration losses in 2021 and 2022 of 175,000 or greater,” notes Marc Perry, senior demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. (Note: The bureau includes Missouri in the Midwest.)

The most recent year-over-year federal data show that Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin had more people come to their state than leave due to the movement of people within the United States. Total populations also increased in every Midwestern state between 2024 and 2025.

For states wanting stable or increased populations, net domestic migration becomes increasingly important as the number of people coming from other countries declines. Nationwide, a historic drop in net international migration occurred between 2024 and 2025, with the United States gaining 1.3 million people. That compares to an increase of more than 2.7 million between 2023 and 2024. The third way states gain or lose population is through “natural changes”: births and deaths. In the Midwest, every state except Michigan and Ohio had more births than deaths between 2024 and 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.