Consequential demographic still fleeing Calif and NY for red states by the

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A recent study points to an exodus of wealthy millennials leaving blue states such as California and New York by the thousands.

More telling is that this demographic, between the ages of 26 and 45, is predominantly moving to red states such as Florida and Texas. Those in this group in particular, who bring in $200,000 or more a year, “have more disposable income and economic freedom than their median counterparts, so their impact on local economies can be outsized,” according to a Smart Asset analysis.

The study found that Florida had the “highest net immigration of high earners in this age group with 6,188 households. Texas ranked second with a net gain of 5,151 households,” and North Carolina followed with a net of 1,970 households.

Democrat-run states saw a significant departure of millennials in this tax bracket, eclipsing the number who are moving in.

“California lost a net of 9,181 wealthy millennial households, the most studywide. New York lost second-most at 4,251 net households. Illinois (-3,163) and Massachusetts (-1,927) also lost a significant amount of wealthy millennials,” the analysis found.

“It’s likely that such economic incentives as costs, taxes, and regulation will continue to drive shifts in demographics as long as there are disproportionate benefits between California and other states,” Jaclyn DeJohn, managing editor at SmartAsset, told SFGate.

While California welcomed 14,139 wealthy millennials, 23,320 of them moved out. Likewise, in New York, there were 11,340 new wealthy millennial residents but the Empire State also lost 15,591 in that demographic.

In the Golden State, millennials make up a significant 23.1% of wealthy households and the numbers are all over 20% for other blue states such as New York (21.6%), Illinois (21.5%), Massachusetts (21.3%), and Washington (24.6%).

“To determine where wealthy millennials are moving, SmartAsset examined the latest IRS data, which comes from the 2021 and 2022 tax years. Wealthy households are defined here as those with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more, which the IRS deems as the threshold for ‘high earners,” the report noted.

In addition, the study found that wealthy millennials “have a preference for Colorado and Georgia compared to peers in other generations.”

“In both states, the number of high-earning millennial households make up 87% of the net gain of all high-earning households that moved to each,” according to the analysis. “Overall, Colorado ranked fourth and Georgia ranked seventh for where most wealthy millennials moved.”

Some “caveats” were noted by SFGate which pointed out California’s large size in comparison to other states as well as the high cost of living, California “has one of the highest costs of living in the country and thus, some of the top earners in the country,” the outlet reported. “An income of $200,000 doesn’t stretch as far as it does in, say, Florida or Texas.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.