Shock figures reveal thousands of Midlands towns and cities are deserting and not coming back

More people left the West Midlands than arrived last year, new figures have revealed. Migration is often blamed for a range of problems in society as the government faces pressure to reduce the number of people coming to the UK.

But perhaps surprising figures showed that net migration actually fell in our region during 2023. In Birmingham, there was a big difference between the number of departures and arrivals.

While more than 56,000 people came to the city, almost 74,000 left, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. Figures also fell in all areas of the Black Country apart from Dudley where there was a small increase.

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Net migration fell by more than 3,000 in Sandwell, around 1,500 in Wolverhampton and around 1,000 in Walsall.

Migration to the West Midlands in 2023

• Birmingham – in 56,257 out of 73,738
• Sandwell – in 16,851 out of 20,081
• Dudley – in 12,692 out of 12,498
• Walsall – in 13,920 out of 15,011
• Wolverhampton – in 13,437 out of 14,848

Immigration was a major focus of the recent general election and the growing population is often cited for issues such as access to GPs and hospital appointments.

The data suggests more people are moving away from towns and cities to live elsewhere, increasing pressures on smaller areas. In 2023, around 860,000 people left London to live elsewhere in the UK, which is 130,000 more than the 730,000 who decided to settle in the capital.

It was a similar story in cities such as Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Leeds, Bristol and Sheffield. But rural and coastal areas saw an increase in residents, with the biggest increases in Cheshire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Cornwall and Northumberland.

Around 3.7 million people moved from one part of the UK to another in 2023. The only major city to see a net increase was Cardiff, which gained around 2,500 residents from internal migration.

The figures follow recent trends and appear to show that UK cities are losing their appeal, possibly due to higher rent and housing costs.