How America Moves

What changed in the 2011–2012 migration data

Biggest movers in the latest IRS Statistics of Income release.

In the 2011 to 2012 filing years, Florida recorded the largest net gain of income (AGI) among states at +$7.5B nominal, and New York the largest net loss at -$3.8B. The tables below rank the biggest state and county movers by net income and net people, with the prior year alongside for context.

States by net income (AGI)

Biggest gains

  1. 1Florida+$7.5B
  2. 2Texas+$2.8B
  3. 3North Carolina+$1.2B
  4. 4South Carolina+$1.1B
  5. 5Colorado+$1.1B
  6. 6Arizona+$946M
  7. 7Nevada+$776.7M
  8. 8Tennessee+$627.6M
  9. 9Washington+$561.7M
  10. 10Wyoming+$212.5M

Biggest losses

  1. 1New York-$3.8B
  2. 2Illinois-$2.6B
  3. 3New Jersey-$2.2B
  4. 4Connecticut-$2B
  5. 5Ohio-$1.2B
  6. 6Massachusetts-$918.1M
  7. 7Pennsylvania-$803.2M
  8. 8Maryland-$732.1M
  9. 9Virginia-$647.3M
  10. 10Michigan-$543.4M
Values are net for the 2011 to 2012 filing years.

States by net people

Biggest gains

  1. 1Texas+118,667
  2. 2Florida+43,486
  3. 3North Carolina+26,982
  4. 4South Carolina+21,546
  5. 5Colorado+20,703
  6. 6Arizona+19,829
  7. 7Tennessee+19,585
  8. 8Washington+11,504
  9. 9Nevada+10,940
  10. 10North Dakota+9,873

Biggest losses

  1. 1New York-99,083
  2. 2Illinois-52,328
  3. 3New Jersey-34,396
  4. 4Ohio-21,820
  5. 5California-19,901
  6. 6Michigan-17,185
  7. 7Pennsylvania-14,953
  8. 8Connecticut-12,088
  9. 9Massachusetts-10,317
  10. 10New Mexico-8,231
Values are net for the 2011 to 2012 filing years.

Counties by net income (AGI)

Biggest gains

  1. 1Palm Beach County, FL+$1.7B
  2. 2Travis County, TX+$1.1B
  3. 3Collier County, FL+$870.6M
  4. 4Maricopa County, AZ+$760.9M
  5. 5Lee County, FL+$758.4M
  6. 6Sarasota County, FL+$483.9M
  7. 7Clark County, NV+$477.5M
  8. 8Orange County, FL+$450.1M
  9. 9Fort Bend County, TX+$419M
  10. 10Riverside County, CA+$385.1M

Biggest losses

  1. 1New York County, NY-$1.8B
  2. 2Fairfield County, CT-$1.4B
  3. 3Los Angeles County, CA-$1.1B
  4. 4Cook County, IL-$968.3M
  5. 5Queens County, NY-$719.6M
  6. 6Middlesex County, MA-$540.7M
  7. 7Fairfax County, VA-$524.2M
  8. 8Suffolk County, MA-$487.6M
  9. 9Hudson County, NJ-$437.1M
  10. 10Wayne County, MI-$407.1M
Values are net for the 2011 to 2012 filing years.

Counties by net people

Biggest gains

  1. 1Maricopa County, AZ+20,955
  2. 2Travis County, TX+17,529
  3. 3Fort Bend County, TX+12,905
  4. 4Riverside County, CA+11,095
  5. 5Bexar County, TX+10,196
  6. 6Denton County, TX+9,968
  7. 7Collin County, TX+9,587
  8. 8Montgomery County, TX+9,071
  9. 9Lee County, FL+8,942
  10. 10Palm Beach County, FL+8,851

Biggest losses

  1. 1Los Angeles County, CA-42,819
  2. 2Miami-Dade County, FL-33,730
  3. 3Cook County, IL-29,291
  4. 4New York County, NY-24,173
  5. 5Kings County, NY-18,237
  6. 6Queens County, NY-17,836
  7. 7Washington County, KS-16,973
  8. 8Wayne County, MI-14,411
  9. 9Hillsborough County, FL-14,107
  10. 10Philadelphia County, PA-10,093
Values are net for the 2011 to 2012 filing years.

Net = arrivals minus departures for the 2011–2012filing years. "Prior year" is the same net for 2010–2011 where the IRS published it. Figures cover federal income tax filers only; AGI is nominal (not inflation adjusted) and is not a measure of economic gain or loss. Source: IRS Statistics of Income migration data (public domain). Methodology. All releases.