Migration in São Paulo/SP (2017–2022)

São Paulo/SP had a reference population (aged 5 or over in 2022) of 10,848,850 people. In the 2017–2022 five-year period, the municipality received 311,895 in-migrants and lost 791,290 out-migrants to other municipalities in Brazil, resulting in a net migration of −479,395 people (−44.19 per 1,000 population) and a migration effectiveness index (IEM) of −0.435. This classifies the municipality, for the period, as one of migratory depletion. In addition, 6,745 arrived with an unreported origin and 51,155 came from abroad.

Indicators

Migration indicators for São Paulo/SP, 2017–2022
Indicator	Estimate	95% CI	Precision
In-migrants	311,895	304,204 to 319,586	good
Out-migrants	791,290	781,876 to 800,704	good
Net migration	−479,395	−491,551 to −467,239	not classified
Net migration rate, TLM (per 1,000 pop.)	−44.19	-	-
Migration effectiveness index (IEM)	−0.435	-	-

Sample of in-migrants: >=500 observations. Sample of out-migrants: >=500 observations. 95% confidence interval computed as estimate ± 1.96 × standard error.

Top origins and destinations

Top 10 origins of in-migrants to São Paulo/SP
Origin	People	Precision
Rio de Janeiro/RJ · view pair in the atlas	17,655	good
Guarulhos/SP · view pair in the atlas	9,095	good
Salvador/BA · view pair in the atlas	6,825	good
São Bernardo do Campo/SP · view pair in the atlas	6,185	good
Osasco/SP · view pair in the atlas	5,980	good
Campinas/SP · view pair in the atlas	5,740	good
Belo Horizonte/MG · view pair in the atlas	5,545	good
Santo André/SP · view pair in the atlas	5,050	good
Brasília/DF · view pair in the atlas	4,570	good
Recife/PE · view pair in the atlas	4,260	good

Top 10 destinations of out-migrants from São Paulo/SP
Destination	People	Precision
Guarulhos/SP · view pair in the atlas	23,425	good
Praia Grande/SP · view pair in the atlas	17,905	good
Santo André/SP · view pair in the atlas	17,810	good
Osasco/SP · view pair in the atlas	14,435	good
Cotia/SP · view pair in the atlas	13,495	good
Sorocaba/SP · view pair in the atlas	13,080	good
Itaquaquecetuba/SP · view pair in the atlas	11,320	good
São Bernardo do Campo/SP · view pair in the atlas	11,140	good
São Caetano do Sul/SP · view pair in the atlas	10,955	good
Diadema/SP · view pair in the atlas	10,185	good

Profile of migrants and residents

In-migrants (arrivals)

Migrant type
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
First move from municipality of birth	158,000	50.7%	>=500
Multi-step migration	88,855	28.5%	>=500
Return to municipality of birth	62,460	20.0%	>=500
Born abroad, internal migrant	2,585	0.8%	50-99

Educational attainment (people aged 25 and over)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Completed higher education	114,800	54.9%	>=500
Completed high school, incomplete higher education	53,980	25.8%	>=500
No schooling or incomplete elementary	23,880	11.4%	>=500
Completed elementary, incomplete high school	16,450	7.9%	>=500

Household income per capita (in 2022 minimum wages)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
More than 2 minimum wages	147,140	47.2%	>=500
1 to 2 minimum wages	62,080	19.9%	>=500
½ to 1 minimum wage	53,770	17.2%	>=500
¼ to ½ minimum wage	26,445	8.5%	>=500
Up to ¼ of a minimum wage	19,680	6.3%	>=500
Not applicable (collective dwelling)	2,780	0.9%	100-499

Age and sex
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Ages 25–39, female	72,480	23.2%	>=500
Ages 25–39, male	64,990	20.8%	>=500
Ages 15–24, female	36,840	11.8%	>=500
Ages 15–24, male	33,205	10.6%	>=500
Ages 40–59, female	28,250	9.1%	>=500
Ages 40–59, male	24,520	7.9%	>=500
Ages 5–14, male	16,530	5.3%	>=500
Ages 5–14, female	16,210	5.2%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, female	11,950	3.8%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, male	6,915	2.2%	100-499

Out-migrants (departures)

Migrant type
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
First move from municipality of birth	408,945	51.7%	>=500
Multi-step migration	252,495	31.9%	>=500
Return to municipality of birth	122,890	15.5%	>=500
Born abroad, internal migrant	6,965	0.9%	>=500

Educational attainment (people aged 25 and over)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Completed higher education	205,900	35.7%	>=500
Completed high school, incomplete higher education	195,935	33.9%	>=500
No schooling or incomplete elementary	106,270	18.4%	>=500
Completed elementary, incomplete high school	69,100	12.0%	>=500

Household income per capita (in 2022 minimum wages)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
More than 2 minimum wages	252,725	31.9%	>=500
1 to 2 minimum wages	177,175	22.4%	>=500
½ to 1 minimum wage	169,765	21.5%	>=500
¼ to ½ minimum wage	101,760	12.9%	>=500
Up to ¼ of a minimum wage	73,400	9.3%	>=500
Not applicable (collective dwelling)	16,465	2.1%	>=500

Age and sex
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Ages 25–39, male	128,105	16.2%	>=500
Ages 25–39, female	127,430	16.1%	>=500
Ages 40–59, male	112,185	14.2%	>=500
Ages 40–59, female	108,735	13.7%	>=500
Ages 5–14, male	60,505	7.6%	>=500
Ages 5–14, female	56,155	7.1%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, female	55,040	7.0%	>=500
Ages 15–24, female	49,420	6.2%	>=500
Ages 15–24, male	47,985	6.1%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, male	45,680	5.8%	>=500
Other / suppressed	50	0.0%	5-19

Non-migrant residents

Educational attainment (people aged 25 and over)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Completed high school, incomplete higher education	2,601,810	33.8%	>=500
Completed higher education	2,245,620	29.2%	>=500
No schooling or incomplete elementary	1,783,895	23.2%	>=500
Completed elementary, incomplete high school	1,058,660	13.8%	>=500

Household income per capita (in 2022 minimum wages)
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
More than 2 minimum wages	3,116,770	28.1%	>=500
1 to 2 minimum wages	2,853,200	25.7%	>=500
½ to 1 minimum wage	2,729,410	24.6%	>=500
¼ to ½ minimum wage	1,319,410	11.9%	>=500
Up to ¼ of a minimum wage	1,035,370	9.3%	>=500
Not applicable (collective dwelling)	28,040	0.3%	>=500

Age and sex
Category	Estimate	Share	Sample
Ages 40–59, female	1,690,905	16.1%	>=500
Ages 40–59, male	1,434,910	13.7%	>=500
Ages 25–39, female	1,307,555	12.5%	>=500
Ages 25–39, male	1,236,785	11.8%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, female	1,207,035	11.5%	>=500
Ages 60 and over, male	812,645	7.8%	>=500
Ages 15–24, male	748,155	7.1%	>=500
Ages 15–24, female	725,895	6.9%	>=500
Ages 5–14, male	670,995	6.4%	>=500
Ages 5–14, female	643,945	6.1%	>=500
Other / suppressed	230	0.0%	20-49

Commuting (work and study)

Commuting indicators for São Paulo/SP
Employed persons (aged 10 and over)	5,601,665
Commute out to work in another municipality	144,510
Commute in from another municipality to work here	871,000
Net commuting	+726,490
Out-commuting rate (%)	2.58
Commuting attraction index	1.079
Median commuting time	60 min

This municipality is part of Região Metropolitana de São Paulo → see the metropolitan region page

Open São Paulo/SP in the interactive atlas →

Methodological note

Estimates from the sample microdata of the 2022 Demographic Census (IBGE, controlled access), fixed-date migration question (residence on July 31, 2017 compared with residence on July 31, 2022). Every estimate is rounded to multiples of 5 and has passed statistical disclosure control (no cell with fewer than 5 people or 3 sampled households). See the full methodology and the glossary.

How to cite this page

Daniel Pessini Sobreira. Atlas da migração interna no Brasil [Atlas of internal migration in Brazil]: São Paulo/SP. Data from the 2022 Demographic Census (IBGE). Data version: 2026-10-01. Available at: https://atlas-da-migracao.github.io/en/municipio/sao-paulo-sp-3550308/. Dataset DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22469791.