163K people moved to Missouri last year, and 94K to Kansas. Where did they come from?

Natalie Wallington
·3 min read
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Last year, Missouri saw an estimated 163,000 people move to the state from all over the country and world, while Kansas got around 94,000 new residents from other states and countries.

Both states saw more people move in than moved out in 2021, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The census data compares 2022 population statistics to those from the previous year, showing that the two states are closely linked: Missouri was the top destination for Kansas residents to move that year, and vice versa.

Other states that saw significant migration into and out of Kansas and Missouri included neighboring states like Illinois, Colorado and Oklahoma. High-population states like Texas, Florida and California also made the list.

With both states’ populations staying relatively steady in the past two years, here’s a closer look at where new Missourians and Kansans are coming from — and where they’re going when they leave.

Where are new Missourians moving from?

The state that contributed the largest number of people to Missouri’s population was neighboring Kansas, with over 22,000 people migrating to Missouri in 2021. The second-biggest influx of residents came from Illinois, followed by those who moved from a foreign country or U.S. island territory.

Here’s a look at the top contributors to Missouri’s population in 2022:

  1. Kansas — 22,333

  2. Illinois — 20,646

  3. Abroad — 18,047

  4. California — 12,107

  5. Florida — 9,758

  6. Arkansas — 9,590

Missouri also lost around 157,000 residents in 2021 to state-to-state migration. Their top destination was Kansas, which claimed nearly 21,000 Missourians. Other high-volume destinations included Florida, Illinois and Texas.

Here are the top states Missourians moved away to in 2021:

  1. Kansas — 20,905

  2. Illinois — 15,923

  3. Texas — 12,766

  4. Florida — 10,919

  5. Arizona — 7,362

  6. California — 6,369

Arizona is a top destination for Missourians — but not a top contributor to its population. Conversely, neighboring Arkansas contributed significant numbers to Missouri in 2022, but wasn’t a top destination for its residents the same year.

The census data also does not show how many Missourians moved out of the country in 2021.

Where are new Kansans moving from?

Kansas gained more than 94,000 residents from other states and countries in 2022 — but also lost around 84,500 to other states.

After Missouri, the biggest contributor to Kansas’ population in 2022 was residents who moved from abroad. Texas was next, followed by the neighboring states of Colorado and Oklahoma.

Here are the top contributors to Kansas’ population in 2022:

  1. Missouri — 20,905

  2. Abroad — 11,580

  3. Texas — 7,767

  4. Colorado — 7,359

  5. Oklahoma — 6,466

  6. California — 5,520

Kansans relocated to many of these same states in 2021. Florida made the list of top destinations despite not being a top contributor. The census data also does not show how many Kansans moved out of the country in 2021.

Here are the states to which the most Kansans moved:

  1. Missouri — 22,333

  2. Texas — 8,257

  3. Oklahoma — 7,440

  4. Florida — 5,111

  5. California — 3,387

  6. Colorado — 3,363

Do you have more questions about population change in Kansas or Missouri? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.