Florida may be known as a retirement destination, but it attracts many young and wealthy newcomers. A recent analysis by SmartAsset, which ranks states based on net migration, found Florida is the No. 1 state in attracting and retaining young people and wealthy people.
The financial site identifies the states that attract the most young professionals between the ages of 26 and 35 who earn at least $200,000 per year in adjusted gross income, based on the latest publicly available IRS statistics from 2021. Decided.
Approximately 3,391 high-income young adults moved to Florida that year. As measured by SmartAsset, 1,216 people remained, resulting in a net migration of 2,175 wealthy young people from the state.
Texas, in second place, saw the second-largest wave of young, affluent migrants, with 4,048 people moving in one year. (California has the largest influx of new taxpayers in this group in the United States, with about 5,000 new taxpayers.) However, this isolated star state has experienced a large-scale exodus of young wealthy people (more than 2,000 taxpayers). The number of net immigrants was 1,909.
And while New Jersey, in third place, generally left the state at high rates among wealthy individuals of all ages, it added 1,048 new wealthy young professionals in the same year. “This was the most dramatic reversal of the overall trend,” Jaclyn DeJong, economic analysis editor at SmartAsset, said in the report.
Young Americans who earn at least $200,000 a year do the following:
States like Florida and Texas stand out to young, affluent people for a variety of reasons, DeJong told CNBC Make It. These regions are home to new tech hotspots like Austin and Miami that offer the opportunity to “attract people with niche or exceptional skills and experience looking to further their careers.” Both states also have warm climates and zero income taxes as selling points.
New Jersey, on the other hand, is “close to New York City's career, social and entertainment opportunities, and has the potential to save money while living a suburban lifestyle.” DeJong said it could be a “best of both worlds” situation for young people, while older residents may already be retired or have less to offer from the job market.
Additionally, New Jersey's “high property taxes contribute significantly to a highly competitive public school system, which also serves young families far more than retirees,” she added.
DeJong said New York and California have “by far” the highest number of young high-income people of any state, and also have one of the largest inflows of wealthy young people in the country.
Nearly 4,000 young wealthy taxpayers moved to New York in 2021, while nearly 5,000 called California their new home. But both states lost more than 9,000 people in the same demographic, and came at the bottom of the list for young people and wealthy people.
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