If there’s a demographic that’s critical to the future fiscal success of a state, it’s financially successful young people. They’re the ones who will support the local economy, power the economic success of the communities they live in for years to come, and fund the state’s activities by paying taxes for the long term. And now they’re leaving blue states for red states, with a new survey showing “rich young professionals” are fleeing California and New York for Texas and Florida in huge numbers.
That survey was Smart Asset’s “States Losing (And Gaining) The Most Rich Young Professionals – 2022 Edition“. It “investigated the movement of rich young professionals, considering individuals younger than age 35 with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) of at least $100,000. We examined the inflow and outflow of these wealthy young professionals from each state between 2019 and 2020 to determine the states losing and gaining the most” and found that those rich young professionals are leaving high-tax and high-crime blue states for freer red states with lower tax rates.
Specifically, the “Key Findings” of the report were that:
Rich young professionals are leaving California after several years of even migration patterns. In the two previous versions of our study, the migration of rich young professionals in and out of California was relatively level. In 2018, California saw a net outflow of about 400 rich young professionals, and in 2019, the Golden State saw a net inflow of around 20 rich young professionals. In stark comparison, California had a net outflow of 7,960 rich young professionals in 2020, the second-highest net outflow across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Two states without income tax take the top spots for where rich young professionals are moving. Texas and Florida rank as the No. 1. And No. 2 states where rich young professionals are moving. In 2020, both states had net inflow of upwards of 3,400 young professionals earning $100,000 or more.
New York, according to the report, lost more than 15,000 net people in that “rich young professional” demographic and California lost a net number of a little under 8,000.
Other leftist areas were hit hard too. The District of Columbia, for example, lost the highest number relative to its total population, losing around 2,100 net members of the demographic.
Meanwhile, the report found that Texas did quite well, claiming that “Between 2019 and 2020, Texas was the most popular destination for wealthy millennials. More than 15,000 millennials making at least $100,000 moved to the state, while only about 11,200 left. In total, there was a net inflow of roughly 3,800 wealthy millennials – the highest of any state and the District of Columbia.”
Florida did similarly well, bringing in about 3,400 members of the demographic.
Importantly, this data comes from 2019 and 2020. If 2021 was taken into account, by which point many of those suffering from the Covid restrictions were able to pack up and leave, it’s possible that the numbers would be even more shocking and disastrous for the high-tax, high-crime, high-regulation blue states like California and New York.
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