Florida gains a resident on net every 2 minutes and 9 seconds, while California loses one every 1 minute and 44 seconds, according to a new report by National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).
The report draws on IRS data that tracks how many taxpayers move into and out of a state each year. One way to conceptualize that data is to calculate how often, on average, a taxpayer enters or leaves a state.
“Taxpayers want to live in states that do not treat them as endless sources of funding for politicians’ pet projects. While many politicians and pundits claim that tax-and-spend policies are what Americans want, the reality is that, year after year, there is steady movement from high-tax states to more fiscally responsible ones,” said Andrew Wilford, Director of NTUF’s Interstate Commerce Initiative and author of the report.
States gaining new residents most frequently are:
Florida (every 2 minutes and 9 seconds)
Texas (2 minutes, 53 seconds)
North Carolina (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
South Carolina (7 minutes, 30 seconds)
Tennessee (8 minutes, 42 seconds).
Conversely, California loses residents even more rapidly than Florida gains them—with another former Golden Stater finding greener pastures every 1 minute and 44 seconds.
States with residents leaving the fastest are:
California (every 1 minute and 44 seconds)
New York (every 2 minutes and 23 seconds)
Illinois (6 minutes, 4 seconds)
Massachusetts (11 minutes, 38 seconds)
New Jersey (14 minutes, 14 seconds).
“Interstate movement is proof that Americans want lower taxes and limited government, and you can measure it with your watch,” Wilford said.
Read the full report.