Citable statement
In ACS 2024, 7,145 people living in Alabama reported living in California one year earlier (± 2,936, 90% margin of error).
- Source ·
- U.S. Census Bureau, State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (Table T13). Official release Jan 21, 2026. Margins of error are 90% MOE.
- Status ·
- Latest available as of Sep 7, 2026. No 2025 state-to-state table is published.
- Limitation ·
- A previous-residence count of people, not household-goods shipments, trucks, or permanent relocations. The distance on this page is state-centroid straight-line, not driving miles. No price, fuel, or toll figure exists in this dataset.
- Cite as ·
- IMMERVEIL, “California to Alabama migration, ACS 2024”, https://immerveil.fyi/routes/california-to-alabama — derived from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 1-year Table T13.
What the figure measures
Tabulation of current state of residence crossed by state of residence 1 year ago. This is a 1-year mobility / previous-residence statistic, not a count of household-goods shipments.
Universe: population 1 year and over. Dataset: State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (Table T13). Official release: Jan 21, 2026. Last checked: Sep 7, 2026. Status: LATEST AVAILABLE. Margins of error in these tables are Census Bureau 90% margins of error.
Corridor table
| Series | Estimate | 90% MOE |
|---|---|---|
| California → Alabama | 7,145 | ± 2,936 |
| Alabama → California | 1,440 | ± 735 |
| California out-of-state movers | 661,205 | ± 21,844 |
| Alabama in-from-other-state movers | 119,890 | ± 9,899 |
| U.S. different-state movers | 7,157,607 | ± 75,154 |
Corridor in context · derived from the table
What makes this pair different
- Rank among California outbound
- 28th of 50
- Rank among Alabama inbound
- 6th of 48
- Rank among all state pairs
- 262nd of 2,096
- Relative margin of error
- 41.1%
- Net direction at 90%
- Established
- Geography
- No shared border
1.1% of outbound
6.0% of inbound
Eligible pairs in ACS 2024 T13
90% interval 4,209–10,081
Difference ± 3,027
Transcontinental (over 1,500 centroid miles)
Alabama is the 28th largest of 50 outbound destinations recorded for California — 1.1% of the 661,205 people who left California for another state.
California is the 6th largest of 48 inbound origins recorded for Alabama — 6.0% of the 119,890 people who arrived in Alabama from another state.
Nationally, this is the 262nd largest of 2,096 state-to-state flows that carry an estimate, a margin of error, and a reverse estimate in the 2024 table.
The 90% margin of error is 41.1% of the estimate: the Census interval runs from 4,209 to 10,081. Treat any single-year comparison inside that band as noise.
California → Alabama exceeds Alabama → California by 5,705 (4.96× the other direction). That difference is larger than its own 90% margin of error (± 3,027), so the net direction is distinguishable from zero at 90% confidence.
California and Alabama do not share a land border. 1,864 state-centroid straight-line miles; IMMERVEIL planning band: Transcontinental (over 1,500 centroid miles). Not driving miles.
Derivations: ranks are competition ranks among cells that carry an estimate (ties share a rank); shares divide the pair estimate by the state’s ACS total; the difference test uses √(MOE₁² + MOE₂²) per Census Bureau statistical-testing guidance; the distance band is an IMMERVEIL planning label on centroid miles, not a tariff zone. Corridor context module v1.0.
Distance note
1,864 miles is the state-centroid straight-line distance between TIGER-derived geographic centroids of California and Alabama. It is not driving mileage, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone. Driving or route miles require a city-to-city pair and a licensed routing provider — this page does not invent that figure. State centroids are computed with d3.geoCentroid on TIGER-derived polygons. Distances shown on state-to-state pages are state-centroid straight-line distances. They are not driving miles, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone. Driving distance requires a city pair and a routing provider.
Planning checklist
- Confirm whether the shipment is interstate (subject to federal household-goods rules) or intrastate.
- Look up the mover’s USDOT before paying a deposit. Open Mover Check.
- Read the estimate type. Open Quote Check.
- Storage between pickup and delivery is common on long corridors — treat unit size as a range. Storage calculator.
Check a mover for this corridor
Questions this page answers
- How many people moved from California to Alabama according to the Census?
- The latest official figure is the ACS 2024 1-year estimate of people living in Alabama whose residence one year earlier was California: 7,145 ± 2,936 (90% margin of error). It is a previous-residence statistic, not a count of household-goods shipments, trucks, or permanent relocations.
- Do more people move from California to Alabama, or the other way?
- California to Alabama is larger: 7,145 versus 1,440 in ACS 2024, a difference of 5,705. That difference exceeds its own 90% margin of error (± 3,027), so the direction is statistically distinguishable from zero.
- How important is Alabama as a destination for people leaving California?
- In ACS 2024, Alabama ranks 28th of 50 recorded destinations for people whose residence one year earlier was California, taking 1.1% of that state's out-of-state movers. Ranks are competition ranks among cells with an estimate; ties share a rank.
- Is the California–Alabama mileage on this page a driving distance?
- No. 1,864 miles is the state-centroid straight-line (great-circle) distance between TIGER-derived geographic centroids. It is not driving miles, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone.
- Is 2024 still the latest official state-to-state migration table?
- Yes. The Census Bureau released 2024 State-to-State Migration Flows on 2026-01-21. No 2025 ACS state-to-state table is published. Calendar year is not the dataset year.
- How should I check a mover for a California to Alabama shipment?
- Use the USDOT printed on the written estimate. Look the number up in Mover Check (live FMCSA MCMIS census) and confirm the record on FMCSA SAFER before paying a deposit. IMMERVEIL does not rank, score, or endorse carriers.
- How much does it cost to move from California to Alabama?
- IMMERVEIL does not invent a mover price, fuel, or toll bracket. ACS Table T13 and the FMCSA census do not contain those figures. Quote Check performs arithmetic on the amount printed on your estimate — including the 110% collect-on-delivery figure for a qualifying interstate non-binding estimate.