FRED has recently added county-level data on net migration based on the American Community Survey. This survey asks whether the respondent has lived elsewhere in the previous year, and the responses are then extrapolated to represent migration flows across the U.S. The map shows the last year for which these data are available. What’s interesting about this picture is that there is no clear pattern. One could have expected, say, a hollowing out of the Midwest in favor of the coasts, but this does not appear to be the case. More-detailed analysis would likely illuminate some deeper patterns, but it looks like migration is largely regional in nature: Moves between neighboring counties, for example, create this random-looking patchwork.

How this graph was created: The original post referenced an interactive map from our now discontinued GeoFRED site. The revised post provides a replacement map from FRED’s new mapping tool. To create FRED maps, go to the data series page in question and look for the green “VIEW MAP” button at the top right of the graph. See this post for instructions to edit a FRED map. Only series with a green map button can be mapped.

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.