The 10 States That Gained the Most Income From People Moving In, Led by Florida’s $20.6 Billion
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Between 2022 and 2023, a large amount of income shifted south and west as people moved between states, with Florida coming out ahead of every other state. It added a net $20.6 billion in adjusted gross income from people who moved in from other states, according to the IRS Statistics of Income migration data. Below are the 10 states that gained the most income from new residents, how many tax returns each one picked up, and what those numbers mean for anyone considering a move, especially in retirement.
How the IRS Tracks Income When People Move
Adjusted gross income, or AGI, is the income on a tax return after a few adjustments, like contributions to certain retirement accounts. It includes wages, investment income, retirement withdrawals, and other taxable income. When a filer’s address changes to a new state from one year to the next, the IRS counts that return and its income as having moved.
The IRS counts tax returns, and one return could belong to a single person or to a married couple with three kids, so a return is closer to a household than a head count. The 2022-2023 year pair is the latest the IRS has released, so these are moves from a few years back. The net figures subtract the income that left a state from the income that got in.
Ranking the 10 States That Gained the Most Income From Movers
- Florida: $20,646,698,000 in net AGI, 55,349 net returns
- Texas: $5,543,750,000 in net AGI, 56,473 net returns
- South Carolina: $4,130,670,000 in net AGI, 29,214 net returns
- North Carolina: $3,908,933,000 in net AGI, 39,118 net returns
- Arizona: $2,757,399,000 in net AGI, 17,316 net returns
- Tennessee: $2,753,460,000 in net AGI, 24,104 net returns
- Nevada: $1,513,261,000 in net AGI, 8,977 net returns
- Idaho: $988,077,000 in net AGI, 5,811 net returns
- New Hampshire: $756,279,000 in net AGI, 2,168 net returns
- Georgia: $746,361,000 in net AGI, 14,671 net returns
Texas actually picked up more tax returns than Florida, but Florida pulled in far more income. Florida gained substantially more income after subtracting what departing residents took with them, despite gaining fewer net tax returns than Texas. New Hampshire shows the same pattern on a smaller scale. It gained only 2,168 returns but still ranks ninth for income.
Where Florida’s Money Came From
New York sent Florida more movers and more income than any other state did. About 43,187 returns moved from New York to Florida, carrying $5,753,306,000 in AGI. New York finished the period with a net loss of $9,894,113,000 in AGI from moves between states.
California lost even more, with a net AGI loss of $11,920,506,000, putting it last among all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Texas was the top destination for people leaving California, taking in $4,764,727,000 in income from those movers.
Why Retirees Keep Picking These States
Several of the top winners, including Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada, and New Hampshire, don’t tax wages. Others on the list keep taxes low or exempt some types of retirement income. Arizona, for example, has a flat 2.5% income tax rate. For a retiree taking money out of a 401(k) or IRA, a lower state tax means keeping more of each withdrawal. Our state retirement coverage breaks down how each state treats Social Security, pensions, and account withdrawals.
Housing is the other draw. A 2023 Vanguard study referenced by The Wall Street Journal found that about 60% of retirees who moved after retiring went somewhere more affordable. Those retirees could typically free up around $100,000 in home equity by doing so.
Higher Costs Tend to Follow the Crowds
Home prices in popular destinations have climbed as newcomers got in. According to the FHFA, home prices in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area rose 67.7% over the five years through the second quarter of 2026. Some retirement markets have cooled lately. Cape Coral-Fort Myers prices fell 0.9% over the past year, though they’re still well above where they were five years earlier.
Property taxes, insurance and association dues can rise too. One retiree who moved to Florida told The Wall Street Journal his property taxes went up by more than $2,200 a year. Bureau of Economic Analysis data places Florida’s cost of living at 103, above the national benchmark of 100. Tennessee is at 92, the lowest of the 10.
What a Ranking Can’t Tell You About Your Own Budget
The IRS figures track where income went, and Florida leads by a wide margin. What they can’t capture is whether any single household ended up better off after moving. That comes down to things like the home price in a specific town, the insurance quote on a specific house, the local property tax bill, and how the new state treats each type of retirement income.
Many states already exempt Social Security, so a retiree living mostly on benefits might see a smaller tax change than one drawing large IRA withdrawals (state treatment is only one piece of the picture, we mapped out nine federal rules that quietly drain retirement accounts in a free guide here). The ranking shows where the crowd went. Whether a move pays off still depends on the numbers in one person’s budget.
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David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.
