Wealthy Newcomers
Texas is drawing more wealthy households than nearly any other state
Texas had the second-highest net inflow of affluent households out of all 50 states.
In a state where it takes much less than $1 million in yearly income to live among the top one percent, it's no wonder America's most affluent are flowing in. More are choosing to move to Texas over almost every other state, according to a new relocation study by SmartAsset.
Texas had the second-highest net inflow of affluent households – defined as those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $200,000 a year – out of all 50 states in the country.
The only state that beat Texas for high-roller new residents: Florida, by a long shot.
To determine where high-earning households are moving, SmartAsset analyzed IRS data from the 2021-2022 tax year, the most recent year for which data was available. The inflow of high-earning households in each state was then compared to the outflows to determine net migration.
The data revealed 25,931 high-earning households moved to Texas during the 2021-2022 tax year, with only 17,671 moving out. That returned a net migration of 8,260 affluent households, earning Texas the No. 2 rank in the national comparison.
Although an AGI of $200,00 was the baseline, the average for a high-earning household moving to Texas comes out to $579,207. For those moving away, it was an AGI of $370,986 — greater wealth moving in, while the medium fish move out out.
The report said these affluent movers can have a larger effect on a place's local economy because "their budgets are much larger than most of the population."
"Thus, states that attract high-earning households can gain an economic advantage over others," the report's author wrote. "Many factors could drive high earners to move across state borders, including business opportunities, tax incentives and other conveniences."
Florida led the nation as the state with the highest net migration of high-earning households, at a whopping 29,771 households. SmartAsset found nearly 46,900 wealthy households moved to the Sunshine State, and only 17,103 relocated out of state.
California may have a reputation for having plenty of wealthy residents, but it appears at the bottom of the list in this study with the worst net migration rate, creating a total loss of 24,670 affluent households. For the 24,205 wealthy movers that relocated to California during the 2021-2022 tax year, nearly 49,000 moved out.
