Using data available from the IRS, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation points out high-tax California and New York keep bleeding residents that are looking for a new address where the paycheck goes farther, property taxes are lower, and gas and groceries are cheaper.
NTUF spokesman Andrew Wilford told AFN the most popular state welcoming new residents is Florida.
"Texas is number two, North Carolina is number three, South Carolina number four, and Tennessee is five," Wilford, citing the data, pointed out.
All of those states, he said, have a lot in common.
"All states either have no income tax at all or, if they do, they have flat income tax, low-income tax, and just generally do not have high tax burdens on their residents,” he advised.
U.S. Census figures back in 2020 showed population shift across the country, where 18 states including New York and California saw a drop in population. That ongoing exodus, nicknamed “The Great Migration," is attributed to a sky-high cost of living, and to conservative-minded residents voting with their feet.
AFN reported back in a 2021 story Florida and Texas, respectively, were leading the nation’s population migration with new Floridians and new Texans. That story cited data from U-Haul, which uses customer rental history for an annual report on where its orange trucks are departing and arriving.
Wilford similarly used IRS data that shows where taxpayers are moving to and moving from each year. He and NTUF also used that data to dig down further and calculate how often taxpayers are leaving or entering a U.S. state.
"In California, someone is leaving every minute," said Wilford. "In New York, someone is leaving every two minutes."
Meanwhile, Florida is averaging a new resident every two minutes and nine seconds.
