Maps Reveal Local Insight Into U.S. Migration Trends

New dataset MIGRATE provides unprecedented neighborhood-level view of annual moves across the country

Published on Feb. 3, 2026

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A new dataset called MIGRATE, developed by researchers at Cornell University, has mapped annual moves between U.S. neighborhoods from 2010 to 2019 in unprecedented detail - 4,600 times greater than standard public data. The research reveals migration patterns that were previously invisible in official county-level data, including the impact of natural disasters like the 2018 Camp Fire in California, racial disparities in upward mobility, and economic segregation in cities like New York.

Why it matters

The MIGRATE dataset provides a much more granular and accurate picture of migration patterns across the U.S., allowing researchers, policymakers, and communities to better understand a range of issues like the impacts of natural disasters, housing affordability, economic segregation, and educational opportunities. This fine-grained data can help ensure resources are targeted more effectively.

The details

The MIGRATE dataset was developed by a team of researchers at Cornell University using a combination of public data sources and purchased consumer data. They used advanced data science and modeling techniques to map annual migration between 47 billion pairs of Census Block Groups (CBGs), enabling a neighborhood-level view of migration patterns. The dataset revealed insights that were previously hidden in county-level data, such as the disproportionate impact of the 2018 Camp Fire in California, where residents within the fire perimeter were at least three times more likely to move than those living nearby.

  • The MIGRATE dataset covers annual migration patterns from 2010 to 2019.
  • The 2018 Camp Fire in California occurred during this time period.

The players

Maria Fitzpatrick

Professor in the Department of Economics and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, and lead researcher on the MIGRATE project.

Nikhil Garg

Assistant professor of operations research and information engineering at Cornell Tech, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute and Cornell Engineering, and co-author on the MIGRATE project.

Gabriel Agostini

Doctoral student at Cornell Tech and co-author on the MIGRATE project.

Emma Pierson

Assistant professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley (formerly Cornell Tech), and co-author on the MIGRATE project.

Rachel Young

Assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and co-author on the MIGRATE project.

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What they’re saying

“MIGRATE reveals trends that shape daily life that broader data completely miss: rising moves into top-income neighborhoods, racial gaps in upward mobility and local shocks like post-wildfire outmigration.”

— Maria Fitzpatrick, Professor in the Department of Economics and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy (Nature Communications)

“Upward mobility is a core concern for our society and economy. Understanding who can afford to move into higher-income neighborhoods can shape housing policies, investments in education and urban infrastructure, and narratives about residential segregation.”

— Gabriel Agostini, Doctoral student at Cornell Tech (Nature Communications)

What’s next

The MIGRATE dataset is now publicly available for nonprofit research use, and the researchers anticipate it will enable a wide range of new findings on migration patterns and their impacts across the United States.

The takeaway

The MIGRATE dataset provides an unprecedented level of detail on migration trends in the U.S., revealing insights that were previously hidden in county-level data. This fine-grained data can help researchers, policymakers, and communities better understand and address a range of issues, from the impacts of natural disasters to economic segregation and educational opportunities.