Despite U.S. census data showing slightly more people may have moved into Ohio instead of out, the Buckeye State’s population is expected to decline for the foreseeable future.
An estimated 185,341 people moved to Ohio in 2023 while 184,281 left the state, according to survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Those figures mean the state may have added a total of 1,060 residents in 2023.
But there’s a catch.
The survey’s margin of error is wide enough that the state may have actually lost population last year as the 184,281 Ohioans who left the state could actually be 9,920 higher or lower, data shows. The number of people who moved to Ohio could also be 10,421 higher or lower than the Census Bureau’s 185,341 estimate.
Those margins may seem wide because it’s difficult to gauge migration from one state to another, said Robert Graham, associate director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University.