People are moving to IL from these 5 states the most. Where are Illinoisans moving?

States with big economies like Florida, Texas and California are all among the top five states Illinois residents are moving to in the largest numbers, U.S. Census data from 2019, the most recent available, show.

But Indiana outpaces them all, possibly because it ranks among the top U.S. states with lowest cost of living.

A move from Indianapolis to Chicago, for instance, would raise your cost of living by more than 20%, according to Salary.com’s cost of living calculator.

Although the U.S. Census Bureau initially reported Illinois had lost population, according to the decennial census in 2020, there was a significant under count. In May, the Census Bureau announced the state added a quarter million people from 2010 to 2020, and its population rose to 13 million people, the largest ever.

According to the latest data available, the Census Bureau estimates 36,328 Illinoisans relocated to Indiana in 2019.

Still, Illinoisans are moving to plenty of other states in large numbers. The top five destinations are as follows:

1. Indiana, number of people: 36,328
2. Florida, number of people: 24,425

3. California, number of people: 24,085

4. Texas, number of people: 23,747

5. Wisconsin, number of people: 22,402

Here are the top states people are moving from to Illinois:

1. Indiana, number of people: 17,156
2. California, number of people: 14,692
3. Florida, number of people: 14,534

4. Missouri, number of people: 13,389

5. Wisconsin, number of people: 12,021

This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 9:08 AM.

Aaron Mudd

Lexington Herald-Leader

Aaron Mudd was a service journalism reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Centre Daily Times and Belleville News-Democrat. He was based at the Herald-Leader in Lexington, and left the paper in February 2026. Support my work with a digital subscription