Where high-earning households are moving most

Khairil Azhar Junos // Shutterstock When high earners move, they take their money with them. And because their budgets are much larger than most of the population, they can have an outsized effect on the local economy. Thus, states that attract high-earning households can gain an economic advantage over others. Many factors can drive high earners to move across state borders, including business opportunities, tax incentives and other conveniences. With this in mind, SmartAsset examined the latest IRS data to find where households earning $200,000 annually or more are moving. Key Findings Florida gained nearly 30,000 high-income households. Florida is the top state where high-income households are moving to with 29,771 net new returns. Texas ranks second for this metric, with a net addition of 8,260 high-earning households.  Money is moving to the Carolinas. North Carolina and South Carolina ranked third and fourth for most high-earning households moving in, with a net gain of 5,792 and 5,270 households, respectively. The average household income of high-earning households moving in is $456,000 for North Carolina and $501,000 for South Carolina.  California and New York lost the most high earners. California ranked last for the net number of high earners moving into the state, with a total loss of 24,670 high income households. While New York lost the second-most high-earning households, its figure is less than half of California’s loss, at -12,040 households. However, the high earners who did move into California and New York this time had a higher average adjusted gross income (AGI) than those who left. Fresh high-income transplants to Wyoming make nearly $1.6 million per year. The income of high-income households moving into Wyoming was just about triple that of those moving out ($535,000). The state ranked 21st overall with a net gain of 316 high-income households. 10 States That Gained the Most High-Income Households SmartAsset Florida Net inflow of high-earning households: 29,771 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 46,874 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 17,103 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $907,013 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $294,189 Texas Net inflow of high-earning households: 8,260 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 25,931 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 17,671 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $579,207 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $370,986 North Carolina Net inflow of high-earning households: 5,792 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 13,430 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 7,638 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $456,384 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $299,005 South Carolina Net inflow of high-earning households: 5,270 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 8,695 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 3,425 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $501,205 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $197,386 Arizona Net inflow of high-earning households: 4,365 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 11,041 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 6,676 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $561,112 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $328,474 Tennessee Net inflow of high-earning households: 4,320 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 8,786 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 4,466 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $586,256 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $268,316 Nevada Net inflow of high-earning households: 2,589 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 6,118 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 3,529 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $845,035 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $425,702 Idaho Net inflow of high-earning households: 2,113 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 3,540 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 1,427 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $494,497 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $190,606 Colorado Net inflow of high-earning households: 1,403 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 10,026 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 8,623 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $590,626 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $464,352 New Hampshire Net inflow of high-earning households: 1,104 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 2,981 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 1,877 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $619,679 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $387,142 10 States That Lost the Most High-Incomes Households California Net outflow of high-earning households: -24,670 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 48,875 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 24,205 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $1,303,439 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $638,597 New York Net outflow of high-earning households: -12,040 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 29,869 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 17,829 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $1,194,676 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $719,123 Illinois Net outflow of high-earning households: -9,292 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 16,363 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 7,071 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $1,582,754 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $575,810 Massachusetts Net outflow of high-earning households: -4,392 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 11,810 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 7,418 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $990,970 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $701,116 New Jersey Net outflow of high-earning households: -3,863 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 15,661 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 11,798 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $892,971 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $533,027 Pennsylvania Net outflow of high-earning households: -2,417 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 10,950 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 8,533 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $734,519 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $515,809 Maryland Net outflow of high-earning households: -2,375 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 8,675 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 6,300 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $723,818 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $466,009 Virginia Net outflow of high-earning households: -2,375 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 12,691 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 10,316 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $588,569 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $436,370 Minnesota Net outflow of high-earning households: -1,784 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 4,929 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 3,145 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $950,019 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $450,349 Washington Net outflow of high-earning households: -1,579 Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 13,393 Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 11,814 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $682,803 Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $521,041 Data and Methodology To determine where high-earning households are moving, SmartAsset reviewed the latest IRS data, which comes from the 2021-2022 tax year. High-earning households as those with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more. The inflow of qualifying households in each state were compared to the outflows to determine net migration of high-earning households. The average AGI for high-earning households who moved during this tax year was also examined for each segment. This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.