Net Migration

 

Why does it matter?

Net migration is important because it brings new skills, labor and talent to the region. This builds diversity in the community and promotes innovation.

Net Migration

Pensacola Metro Area (Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties)

 

Migration based on the current address compared to the address held 1 year ago. Most do not move. If they did move, the categories were from abroad, from a different state, from a different county, same state or moved within the same county.

 

Inbound/Outbound Migration

Pensacola Metro Area (Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties)

 

Based on IRS tax data, the total incoming vs. outgoing migrants per year. Positive values indicate more incoming migrants than outgoing.

 

Where are we now?

From 2015–2021, migrants made up about 20 percent of the population. As time goes on, less of the population is migrating from outside the region although the change is relatively small. Migration from within the same county was the highest incoming group, followed by those from a different state. The least amount of incoming residents came from somewhere abroad or some other county in the state of Florida.  

While this statistic is useful for identifying the migratory pattern of the total population, we can look at inbound/outbound transfer to find the total net migrants. Naturally, net migration is positive for an influx of individuals and is negative when outbound migration exceeds replacement level. While the region’s migration peaked in 2017, the current values are substantially higher than 2015 and started to grow again in 2020.

How do we measure it?

Net migration is measured in two different ways. The first is the percent of the total population that migrated to the two-county region, and the second is the total net migrants—both inbound and outbound. When looking at migration as a percent of the population, as estimated by the Census, it is broken down by several categories. Residents of the two counties either moved from abroad, moved from a different county in Florida, moved from a different state, moved within the same county or did not move.

The other measure of net migration, calculated by the IRS, deals with total inbound, outbound migration, where the inbound minus the outbound is equal to the total net migrants.

What call to action is linked to this indicator?

To increase the diversity of the region, the University of West Florida (UWF) could offer new incentives to students coming from outside the country. UWF could not only offer programs, but also target their marketing approach to reach students abroad. By reaching a larger segment of international students, the chances of students staying in Pensacola post graduation are much higher.