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Michigan draws residents from other states for first time in decades

For the first time in decades, more U.S. residents moved into Michigan last year than moved out of it, according to new census data released Tuesday, Jan. 27.

International migration and the state’s first net domestic migration gain since 1991 fueled the fourth consecutive year of Michigan’s population growth.

As of July 1, 2025, the state added 27,992 people, up 0.3% from a year earlier, to 10,127,884.

“Michigan is the place to be,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a news release about the data.

“In 2025, Michigan’s population grew for the fourth year in a row as we welcomed nearly 28,000 new Michiganders. Also, for the first time since the early ’90s, more people moved into Michigan from other states than moved out.”

Population estimates are based on several factors, including births, deaths and migration patterns. Domestic migration includes people moving in and out of the state to other parts of the United States, while international migration refers to the number of people moving in and out of the country.

Michigan saw the first net gain in domestic migration since at least 1991, according to state demographer Jaclyn Butler, with more people arriving from other parts of the United States than leaving the state. There was a net gain of 1,796 residents through domestic migration. International migration brought about 30,706 new residents to the state, according to census estimates.

More Michigan residents died than were born annually, with a net loss of 4,998 residents due to natural change.

Demographer Kurt Metzger told the Free Press he’s celebrating Michigan’s domestic migration gain but remains cautious given that census data are revised annually going back to the previous decennial census. For example, the 2024 estimate was lowered by about 40,000 people in the latest release, making the 2025 estimate lower than last year’s 2024 figure, Metzger said.

“Let us hope this is the beginning of a new trend in positive domestic migration,” he said.

The U.S population increased by 0.5% to about 341.8 million residents between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025. It was the nation’s slowest growth since the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of residents increased by 0.2% in 2021; Michigan’s population declined by 0.3% in 2021, census data shows.

“The slowdown in U.S. population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” Christine Hartley, a Census Bureau official, said in a news release.

“With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”

States that grew the fastest were South Carolina (1.5%), Idaho (1.4%), North Carolina (1.3%), Texas (1.2%) and Utah (1.0%). Five states saw population decline: California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia.