Folks are moving to MS from these 10 states the most, 2026 Census data shows
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated how many new residents Mississippi gained in 2024. Mississippi actually gained more than 65,300 residents in 2024.
Mississippi’s population growth in 2024 was driven largely by newcomers from other Southern states, new U.S. Census data shows.
The Magnolia State gained 65,391 residents from different states in 2024, according to Census data published Jan. 21.
Texas led the flow of new residents, accounting for more than 8,500 arrivals. Tennessee and Alabama followed closely, each adding more than 8,400 and 8,200 newcomers, respectively.
Several new residents, 15,301, lived outside the country in 2023, according to the data.
Which states did MS gain the most folks from in 2024?
These are the top 10 states where people moved to Mississippi from, according to U.S. Census data:
1. Texas: 8,574
2. Tennessee: 8,457
3. Alabama: 8,215
4. Louisiana: 7,040
5. Arkansas: 5,010
6. Georgia: 3,210
7. Florida: 3,023
8. California: 2,785
9. North Carolina: 1,811
10. Illinois: 1,744
Why did people move to MS?
A recent study by U-Haul, a moving and storage company, found the following two trends stood out as reasons for why people move to Mississippi, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported:
1. Warm weather: A majority of the top 10 states for inbound migration are located in warmer climates, while a majority of the top 10 states for outbound moves are in colder regions, according to U-Haul data from 2025.
2. Blue-to-red state migration: Seven of the top 10 growth states have Republican governors, while nine of the bottom 10 states have Democrat governors, the U-Haul study found.
Full census breakdown
Here’s how many people migrated to Mississippi from every state and the District of Columbia in 2024:
- Alabama: 8,21
- Alaska: 0
- Arizona: 255
- Arkansas: 5,010
- California: 2,785
- Colorado: 846
- Connecticut: 0
- Delaware: N
- District of Columbia: 0
- Florida: 3,023
- Georgia: 3,210
- Hawaii: 0
- Idaho: N
- Illinois: 1,744
- Indiana: 325
- Iowa: 0
- Kansas: N
- Kentucky: 215
- Louisiana: 7,040
- Maine: 0
- Maryland: 783
- Massachusetts: 388
- Michigan: 624
- Minnesota: 263
- Missouri: 459
- Montana: N
- Nebraska: N
- Nevada: 533
- New Hampshire: 215
- New Jersey: N
- New Mexico: 0
- New York: 529
- North Carolina: 1,811
- North Dakota: 0
- Ohio: 1,058
- Oklahoma: 1,547
- Oregon: 1,128
- Pennsylvania: 1,589
- Rhode Island: N
- South Carolina: 426
- South Dakota: 478
- Tennessee: 8,457
- Texas: 8,574
- Utah: 177
- Vermont: 122
- Virginia: 1,565
- Washington: 788
- West Virginia: 0
- Wisconsin: N
- Wyoming: 310
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
