As Americans continue relocating across state lines, California and New York remain at the center of the nation’s migration story.
The latest IRS data show the top 10 counties with the largest net losses of taxpayers to other states were all located in California and New York. Compiled from federal tax returns, the figures offer one of the clearest snapshots of where Americans are relocating — and where their income is moving with them. Economists say those migration patterns help explain broader shifts in state economies, tax bases and housing markets as families weigh affordability, taxes and job opportunities when considering where they want to put down roots.
The movement of taxpayers and their income can also affect state and local tax collections, which help fund schools, public safety and infrastructure.
Los Angeles County, home to Hollywood and one of the nation’s largest economic engines, led the nation with a net loss of 17,496 tax filers. Those departing taxpayers took nearly $1.9 billion in income with them as they moved to other states.
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FLOURISH MAP SHOWING COUNTY MIGRATION: 29696985
Other major counties in California and New York saw similar outflows. The next-largest taxpayer losses were recorded in Queens County, New York (-17,109), the Bronx (-16,319), Orange County, California (-11,618) and Suffolk County, New York (-10,434).
One New York county stood out for a different reason.
Manhattan gained more interstate tax filers than any other county in the nation while simultaneously losing nearly $1 billion in adjusted gross income, suggesting many of the newcomers earned less than those who left.
Compiled from federal tax returns, the IRS migration data provide one of the clearest snapshots of where Americans are relocating—and where their income is moving with them. Economists say the figures offer insight into the economic forces reshaping states, from taxes and housing costs to job opportunities and the long-term health of local tax bases. The latest data continue to point to a shift away from many of the nation’s largest coastal counties toward fast-growing destinations in the Sun Belt and Mountain West.
“It’s very, very clear that people ultimately vote with their feet and when they feel like they’re getting taxed too much, they go somewhere else where they will be taxed less,” Heritage Foundation chief economist E.J. Antoni told Fox News Digital.
“If you look at where these people are going, they’re not going to Massachusetts or Illinois or California,” Antoni said. “They’re going to Texas. They’re going to Tennessee. They’re going to Florida — places with low or no income taxes and low overall levels of taxation.”
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The remaining counties rounding out the top 10 for taxpayer losses were San Diego County, California (-9,401); Nassau County, New York (-9,130); Riverside County, California (-8,968); San Bernardino County, California (-8,462); and Kings County, New York (-6,924).
While those two states dominated the counties with the largest taxpayer losses, other parts of the country continued attracting new residents. The counties with the largest net gains in interstate tax filers were Maricopa County, Arizona (+9,353); Harris County, Texas (+8,955); King County, Washington (+8,297); and Clark County, Nevada (+7,524).
“The ‘vote with your feet’ movement, is real,” Paul Teller, a conservative strategist who previously served in the Trump-Pence White House, told Fox News Digital.
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Teller said Americans continue leaving high-tax, highly regulated states for places where they can keep more of what they earn and face lower costs of living, arguing the migration patterns should serve as a warning for policymakers in states that continue losing residents.
“What baffles me, especially as a former New Yorker is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern in the states that are losing people,” Teller told Fox News Digital.
Teller argued the trend could carry long-term fiscal consequences if affluent taxpayers continue leaving. He said the debate has taken on renewed attention as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani advances an agenda that includes higher taxes on top earners, rent freezes for stabilized apartments, free city buses and city-owned grocery stores.
California has likewise remained at the center of debates over taxes on high-income earners, maintaining one of the nation’s highest top marginal income tax rates.
“Let’s see what happens when the wealthy keep moving out of big blue states like California and New York,” Teller said. “We’ll see what happens to tax revenue. We’re already seeing it. It’s going down significantly.”
