Florida gained $20.7B in 2023 as high earners fled high-tax New York, new IRS data shows

High earners left New York and California for low-tax states in 2023. Realtor.com tracked the billions lost and gained by each state using the latest IRS data

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The pandemic did not just move people. It moved money. When millions of Americans decamped from coastal cities for sunnier, cheaper, or roomier places during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, they carried their incomes with them. And the cumulative effect on state-level wealth was staggering.

The winners were lower-tax, faster-growing states in the South and Mountain West. The losers were the states those movers left behind — California, New York, and Illinois chief among them. What the new data makes clear is the sheer magnitude of those transfers, and how concentrated they were at the top of the income spectrum.

Housing affordability sits at the center of the story. States that invested in new construction kept prices within reach, and states that did not found themselves unable to retain residents. The result is a widening divergence in state-level economic vitality that will shape housing markets, tax bases, and public services for years to come.

Realtor.com analyzed the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service to determine the five states that captured the most net income through interstate moves in 2023 — and the five that lost out most.

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Net change: +$20.7 billion

No state comes close to Florida's haul. Its $20.7 billion net gain in 2023 was nearly four times what second-place Texas managed — and the gap was not about volume. Florida attracted more filers than it lost, but the real story is about who came. Arrivals reported average incomes roughly 60% higher than those who left, giving Florida a quality-of-mover advantage that no other state matched. Gay Cororaton, chief economist for Miami Realtors, told Realtor.com that the average income of people who moved to Florida from another state was the highest of any U.S. state in 2023. The concentration of wealth at the top was striking: Filers earning $200,000 or more accounted for about 82% of the state's total net gain, proving Florida's tax-free status resonated most powerfully with high earners who had the most to save by leaving states with steep income taxes.

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Net change: +$5.3 billion

Texas attracted more movers than any state except Florida — roughly 310,000 inbound returns in 2023 — and netted $5.3 billion in income as a result. But unlike Florida, the earnings gap between arrivals and departures was narrow. The gain came from sheer scale rather than disproportionately wealthy residents. Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner credited Texas's active homebuilding sector as a core reason the state continues to absorb domestic migrants, keeping supply high enough to sustain affordability relative to coastal markets. States willing to build can absorb large inflows without pricing newcomers out, which in turn sustains the migration that drives income growth. The model is volume-driven rather than wealth-driven — less glamorous than Florida's numbers but more broadly based.

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Net change: +$4.1 billion

South Carolina's $4.1 billion net income gain is outsized for a state of its population. About 100,000 filers moved in against 71,000 who moved out, and those arriving earned meaningfully more than those departing. High earners drove more than half the total gain on their own. The Census Bureau ranked South Carolina among the top states for net domestic migration growth relative to population size in 2025, a sign that the inflows are structural rather than a one-time pandemic spike. Realtor.com's affordability research team placed it among the most accessible states for buyers. Berner noted South Carolina's construction activity as a structural advantage drawing movers priced out of larger markets, particularly from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Carolinas, taken together, have emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries of the broader coastal exodus.

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Net change: +$3.9 billion

North Carolina netted $3.9 billion in income from interstate moves in 2023, but the headline figure obscures how evenly distributed those gains were. Unlike Florida and South Carolina, where high earners drove the bulk of the inflow, North Carolina recorded meaningful net income gains across nearly every bracket. The breadth points to a different kind of migration story, one driven less by tax arbitrage and more by the pull of a diversified economy. The Research Triangle has drawn technology, pharmaceutical, and finance employers for decades, creating demand for workers at multiple income levels rather than just at the top. Its underlying economic gravity makes the state's migration gains harder to reverse than those built primarily on favorable tax treatment, which can shift with policy.

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Net change: +$2.8 billion

Tennessee rounds out the top five with a net income gain of $2.8 billion. Like Florida and Texas, it levies no personal income tax, offering a meaningful advantage for higher earners relocating from states such as Illinois or New York, where top rates run well into double digits. About 113,500 filers moved in against roughly 89,800 outbound, with arrivals earning noticeably more on average than those departing. High-income filers above $200,000 accounted for roughly half the total gain. Tennessee's geographic position — bordering eight states and anchored by Nashville, one of the South's fastest-growing metros — made it a natural destination for coastal transplants and movers from the Midwest and Mid-South. The combination of tax relief and relative affordability gives the state a diversified appeal that its neighbors in the bottom five conspicuously lack.

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Net change: -$13 billion

California's $13 billion net income loss from interstate moves in 2023 was the largest of any state — more than $2 billion worse than second-place New York. About 104,000 more filers moved out than moved in, and those who departed earned more on average than those arriving, carrying away roughly $19.3 billion in income. Berner identified California as one of the states furthest behind on home construction, keeping prices elevated relative to incomes and giving residents both a financial and practical reason to leave. The state does attract movers, but the income gap between arrivals and departures is wide enough that no plausible increase in inflows would close it without a significant change in housing policy.

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Net change: -$10.7 billion

New York's $10.7 billion net loss — the second-largest of any state — stands out for its breadth. Unlike some high-cost states where outflows concentrate among top earners, New York recorded net income losses in every bracket, from the lowest-earning movers up through the wealthiest. Those departing consistently out-earned those arriving, and they chose Florida as one of their top destinations for New York leavers. The IRS data makes the pattern financially legible: the income saved by moving from New York — where the top marginal rate exceeds 10% — to a state with no income tax is substantial at almost any income level. Housing costs amplify the pressure. New York consistently ranks among the least affordable states for buyers, with construction activity that falls well short of demand.

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Net change: -$6.2 billion

Illinois lost $6.2 billion in net income from interstate moves in 2023, with nearly 29,000 more returns filing from out of state. Those leaving earned considerably more on average than those arriving — and the state's highest earners accounted for more than two-thirds of the total net loss. The pattern is not new. Illinois has been losing residents for years. High property taxes, along with a flat income tax, make it one of the more expensive states to live in. And there is little sign of relief: Illinois owes hundreds of billions in unfunded pension promises to public workers and has no clear path to paying them down without raising taxes further. Berner's point about construction is apt here, too. Illinois has not built enough housing to offer price relief, and without that, the competitive disadvantage relative to no-income-tax states compounds over time.

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Net change: -$4.2 billion

Massachusetts shed $4.2 billion in net income from interstate moves in 2023. Those leaving averaged roughly $26,500 more per return than those arriving — a gap wide enough that no amount of inbound migration could close it. The losses were concentrated sharply at the top of the income distribution, where filers above $200,000 accounted for nearly $3 billion of the total, or about 70% of the state's net loss. The timing is notable: 2023 was the first year a new 4% surtax on income above $1 million took effect in Massachusetts, adding a marginal tax burden on the state's highest earners that had not existed the year before. Whether the surtax drove departures or merely coincided with them is difficult to isolate, but the data shows high earners leaving at a rate that left the state's income base materially smaller.

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Net change: -$2.8 billion

New Jersey's $2.8 billion net loss is telling because the people arriving were not low earners. Inbound filers actually averaged close to $104,000 in income, which ranks among the higher inflow averages nationally. The problem is the people leaving earned even more. With the country's highest property taxes and one of its steepest income tax burdens, New Jersey has struggled to compete with neighboring states and the South for residents weighing a move. The state's top earners — those most able to relocate and most motivated by tax savings — accounted for the majority of the net income lost.

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