The Great Migration: More Americans continue to move to low-tax states

A report released by Bank of America showed that the exodus to lower-tax states continues, with many Americans leaving states like California and New York behind.

The report detailed that the migratory flows that occurred during the pandemic have not been reversed to date, the data suggest that “cities that saw a large influx of people during the pandemic have still been growing faster than others cities in recent quarters”, he said.

Lower tax-red states like Florida and Texas are receiving large numbers of internal migrants. In this sense, Austin was the city that experienced the greatest influx of people during the first two years of the pandemic with a growth of 5%, this led, according to the study, to the population of Texas increasing more than 1.5% in the first months of the year.

The analysis highlighted that Bank of America data suggests that Baby Boomers are moving to Las Vegas and Tampa, while Millennials prefer Austin. Both groups are leaving the larger cities of San Francisco and New York,” he added.

For its part, Tampa, Florida, had a population growth of just under 1% in the first months of 2023, Orlando, Florida, was also among the first places with a growth rate similar to that of Tampa, and is that both states, both Texas and Florida, do not have a state income tax.

As for the city of New York since the first months of the year, its population has decreased by about 1%, but not only Because it has some of the highest tax burdens in the country, like California, utilities, rent, and more are much more expensive than other cities.

For Janelle Fritts, a policy analyst with the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, “this population shift paints a clear picture. People left high-tax, high-cost states for lower-tax, lower-cost alternatives,“ he said, noting that “with many states responding to strong revenues and increased state competition by reducing taxes, these trends can only increase, he added.