How America Moves

What changed in the 2020–2021 migration data

Biggest movers in the latest IRS Statistics of Income release.

In the 2020 to 2021 filing years, Florida recorded the largest net gain of income (AGI) among states at +$39.2B nominal, and California the largest net loss at -$29.1B. 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+$39.2Bwas +$23.7B
  2. 2Texas+$10.9Bwas +$6.4B
  3. 3Nevada+$4.6Bwas +$2.6B
  4. 4North Carolina+$4.6Bwas +$3.7B
  5. 5Arizona+$4.4Bwas +$4.8B
  6. 6South Carolina+$4.2Bwas +$3.6B
  7. 7Tennessee+$4.1Bwas +$2.6B
  8. 8Idaho+$2.2Bwas +$2.1B
  9. 9Colorado+$2.1Bwas +$2.3B
  10. 10Utah+$1.6Bwas +$1.3B

Biggest losses

  1. 1California-$29.1Bwas -$17.8B
  2. 2New York-$24.5Bwas -$19.5B
  3. 3Illinois-$10.9Bwas -$8.5B
  4. 4Massachusetts-$4.3Bwas -$2.6B
  5. 5New Jersey-$3.8Bwas -$2.3B
  6. 6Ohio-$2.1Bwas -$1.4B
  7. 7Pennsylvania-$1.9Bwas -$1.2B
  8. 8Maryland-$1.9Bwas -$1.8B
  9. 9Virginia-$1.8Bwas -$1.1B
  10. 10District of Columbia-$1.6Bwas -$1.4B
Values are net for the 2020 to 2021 filing years.

States by net people

Biggest gains

  1. 1Florida+257,487was +169,063
  2. 2Texas+177,293was +136,174
  3. 3North Carolina+77,522was +69,067
  4. 4South Carolina+64,845was +54,334
  5. 5Tennessee+62,304was +45,464
  6. 6Arizona+57,254was +80,652
  7. 7Georgia+54,738was +37,765
  8. 8Idaho+31,999was +36,658
  9. 9Oklahoma+21,675was +14,675
  10. 10Alabama+21,532was +17,532

Biggest losses

  1. 1California-330,513was -261,273
  2. 2New York-262,216was -248,387
  3. 3Illinois-104,990was -100,858
  4. 4Massachusetts-44,276was -37,104
  5. 5Louisiana-28,291was -20,627
  6. 6New Jersey-26,069was -23,306
  7. 7Maryland-23,444was -19,647
  8. 8Minnesota-15,955was -11,252
  9. 9District of Columbia-15,466was -15,373
  10. 10Pennsylvania-14,428was -5,020
Values are net for the 2020 to 2021 filing years.

Counties by net income (AGI)

Biggest gains

  1. 1Palm Beach County, FL+$7Bwas +$4.3B
  2. 2Miami-Dade County, FL+$6.4Bwas +$933.3M
  3. 3Collier County, FL+$4Bwas +$3.6B
  4. 4Clark County, NV+$3.2Bwas +$1.4B
  5. 5Lee County, FL+$2.6Bwas +$2B
  6. 6Maricopa County, AZ+$2.6Bwas +$2.9B
  7. 7Sarasota County, FL+$2.2Bwas +$1.6B
  8. 8Travis County, TX+$1.9Bwas +$948.3M
  9. 9Suffolk County, NY+$1.6Bwas +$2.1B
  10. 10Denton County, TX+$1.3Bwas +$897.3M

Biggest losses

  1. 1New York County, NY-$16.5Bwas -$14.5B
  2. 2Los Angeles County, CA-$8.8Bwas -$5.5B
  3. 3San Francisco County, CA-$8Bwas -$6.9B
  4. 4Cook County, IL-$7.6Bwas -$5.1B
  5. 5Santa Clara County, CA-$6.1Bwas -$5B
  6. 6Kings County, NY-$3.6Bwas -$3.5B
  7. 7San Mateo County, CA-$3.2Bwas -$1.7B
  8. 8Queens County, NY-$2.9Bwas -$2.1B
  9. 9Alameda County, CA-$2.6Bwas -$1.1B
  10. 10Suffolk County, MA-$2.5Bwas -$1.9B
Values are net for the 2020 to 2021 filing years.

Counties by net people

Biggest gains

  1. 1Collin County, TX+28,287was +24,478
  2. 2Lee County, FL+25,412was +17,349
  3. 3Polk County, FL+24,032was +17,639
  4. 4Maricopa County, AZ+22,720was +40,250
  5. 5Fort Bend County, TX+20,969was +20,340
  6. 6Pasco County, FL+20,841was +17,543
  7. 7Denton County, TX+20,547was +19,733
  8. 8Montgomery County, TX+20,455was +15,246
  9. 9Riverside County, CA+20,083was +22,414
  10. 10Williamson County, TX+19,605was +20,317

Biggest losses

  1. 1Los Angeles County, CA-145,543was -125,888
  2. 2Cook County, IL-85,736was -73,828
  3. 3Kings County, NY-73,227was -68,743
  4. 4New York County, NY-62,829was -78,737
  5. 5Queens County, NY-61,540was -50,401
  6. 6Santa Clara County, CA-46,775was -40,821
  7. 7Bronx County, NY-37,720was -30,468
  8. 8Alameda County, CA-35,004was -22,685
  9. 9San Francisco County, CA-32,230was -39,202
  10. 10King County, WA-32,121was -23,159
Values are net for the 2020 to 2021 filing years.

Net = arrivals minus departures for the 2020–2021filing years. "Prior year" is the same net for 2019–2020 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.