St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

In 2019, 1,269 people moved to Berrien County from within the state, according to migration data from the Internal Revenue Service.

This is an increase over the year before, when 1,162 people migrated to Berrien County from elsewhere in the state.

The number of people moving to Berrien County is offset by the 3,469 residents who left the area during the same year.

There were 3,285 people who left the year before.

Migration data for the U.S. is based on year-to-year address changes reported on individual income tax returns filed with the IRS.

Analysis from the Tax Foundation found that U.S. residents are flocking within the country to states with lower taxes. Florida and Texas, which don't have income tax, saw the highest migration rates in 2021-2022.

The study also showed that high-tax states, such as New York and California, are suffering from diminishing populations. A separate report from the Fiscal Policy Institute reported that more than 300,000 people alone left New York state in 2021 and 2022.

Years	Inflow	Outflow	Domestic Migration
2017-2018	1,240	3,341	-2,101
2018-2019	1,162	3,285	-2,123
2019-2020	1,269	3,469	-2,200