12 States High Earners Are Fleeing

SmartAsset recently analyzed the movement between states by households that earn more than $200,000 a year. It found that a majority of the states with the largest influx of high-earning households are at least partially in the Sun Belt. SmartAsset further found that most of the states with the biggest net losses of these households are traditionally viewed as high-tax states. Their departures can be bad news for the places they leave because a state that loses more high earners than it gains in a given year may experience a decline in tax revenue and its fiscal situation may worsen. That said, the 10 states with the largest outflows still have a high percentage of households earning over $200,000 — 8.8% — compared with 6.8% of all high-earning tax filers nationally, the research showed. For its analysis, SmartAsset used Internal Revenue Service data to examine the inflow and outflow of tax filers making at least $200,000 in each state and the District of Columbia between 2019 and 2020. See the gallery for the 12 states with the largest number of high-earning households moving out. (Image: Adobe Stock)