Benton County migration: Where people are coming and going
The majority of moves into and out of Benton County are from the counties that immediately surround us.
This is based on IRS data that comes out every year showing how many federal tax returns are filed on a county-by-county basis. It's not 100% perfect (no data are), but it gives a solid look at migration. Maybe the biggest issue with relying on IRS data for this is that they're several years behind -- the most recent data compares 2022 and 2023.
Anyway, those charts show migration into and out of Benton County looks like based on IRS data.
Inbound to Benton County
In that time period, 11,051 people moved to Benton County -- 61% of them moved here from within Washington state. Top five counties sending people TO Benton:
- Franklin
- Yakima
- King
- Grant
- Walla Walla
Outbound from Benton County
9,981 people moved out of Benton County between 2022 and 2023 -- 57% of them stayed in Washington.
Top five county destinations for Benton County residents who left:
- Franklin
- Yakima
- King
- Spokane
- Umatilla
What stands out to you?
(I still need to dig into the IRS data and do the Franklin County version of this, but obviously Benton will be #1 on both of its charts. I'm guessing it'll be pretty similar overall.)