Connecticut has experienced four principal migrations: the arrival of European immigrants in the 17th century, the outmigration of many settlers to other states beginning in the 18th century, renewed European immigration in the late 19th century, and the intrastate migration of city dwellers to the suburbs since 1945.
Although the first English settlers found an abundance of fertile farmland in the Connecticut Valley, later newcomers were not so fortunate. It is estimated that in 1800, when Connecticut's population was 250,000, nearly three times that many people had moved away from the state, principally to Vermont, western New York, Ohio, and other Midwestern states.
The influx of European immigrants increased the number of foreign-born in the state from 38,518 in 1850 to about 800,000 by World War I. After World War II, the rush of middle-class whites (many from neighboring states) to Connecticut suburbs, propelled in part by the "baby boom" that followed the war, was accompanied by the flow of minority groups to the cities. All told, Connecticut had a net increase from migration of 561,000 between 1940 and 1970, followed by a net loss of 113,000 from 1970 to 1990. Between 1990 and 1998, the state had a net loss of 217,000 residents in domestic migration, and a net gain of 68,000 in international migration. In 1998, Connecticut admitted 7,780 foreign immigrants. Between 1990 and 1998, the state's overall population decreased by 0.4%. In the period 1995–2000, 260,823 people moved into the state and 325,433 moved out, for a net loss of 64,610.