Florida received more wealth from startups than any other state in 2023, according to newly released data from the Internal Revenue Service.
In 2023, Florida received $20.65 billion in annual income from tax filers who moved there from another state within the US, according to a Realtor.com® analysis of IRS relocation data.
Other states that saw large gains in foreign income include Texas (+$5.5 billion), South Carolina (+$4.1 billion), North Carolina (+$3.9 billion), Tennessee (+$2.8 billion), and Nevada (+$1.5 billion).
Meanwhile, states notorious for high cost of living lost the most residents’ income to other states, led by California (-$11.9 billion), New York (-$9.9 billion), Illinois (-$6.0 billion), Massachusetts (-$4.02 billion), and New Jersey (-$2.56 billion).
Realtor.com chief economist Joel Berner says: “The trend of the past few years is very similar to the trend we’re seeing now: People are moving toward the things they can afford. “The states that have seen the biggest gains in immigration wealth are the ones doing the most to increase housing supply and affordability.”
Berner says Florida, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, the Carolinas, and Tennessee excel in new construction, making it easier for people to find homes they can afford. Meanwhile, California and New York are far behind.
New IRS data shows that Florida’s Palm Beach County was at the top of the flow of wealth in 2023, receiving $3.04 billion from immigrants.
The average voter who moved to Palm Beach County in 2023 reported an income of $178,085, nearly double the median income of $98,527 for those who moved out of the county.
“Florida attracts more high-income earners than any other state,” Gay Cororaton, chief economist for Miami Realtors®, wrote in an article breaking down the new data.
Cororton noted that in 2023, the median income of Florida immigrants was $122,530, the highest among all US states.
Following Florida for top earners in 2023 were Connecticut ($100,822), New Hampshire ($109,000), and New Jersey ($102,190).
Florida and Texas are growing in movement, but slowly
Separate data from the US Census Bureau shows that Florida and Texas, the hardest hit states of the COVID-19 epidemic, continue to grow in domestic migration, but at a much slower pace.
Florida received 22,517 new immigrants in 2025, down 93% from its peak in 2022, and the lowest annual gain since 2010 after the Great Recession.
Texas was also down, though not as sharply, with a net migration of 67,299 last year, down 69% from the 2022 peak.
It is possible that the epidemic caused people to migrate to these popular countries, compressing years of expected migration into a short window.
Based on population size, South Carolina, Idaho and North Carolina saw the largest growth in 2025 from domestic migration, or the number of people leaving a state other than moving.
Meanwhile, states that have seen the most declines in domestic immigration (meaning more people have moved in) include New York, Hawaii, Alaska and California.
The cost of housing may play a large role in these trends, with the Carolinas ranking high in Realtor.com’s latest state-by-state survey, with states seeing the largest influx among the least affordable in the nation.
#money #Map #shows #movement #wealth #pandemic #country #gained #20B