July 31. When high earners move, they take their money with them. And because their budgets are much larger than most of the population, they can have an outsized effect on the local economy. Thus, states that attract high-earning households can gain an economic advantage over others. Many factors could drive high earners to move across state borders, including business opportunities, tax incentives and other conveniences.

With this in mind, SmartAsset examined the latest IRS data to find where households earning $200,000 annually or more are moving.

Key Findings

—Florida gained nearly 30,000 high-income households. Florida is the top state where high-income households are moving to with 29,771 net new returns. Texas ranks second for this metric, with a net addition of 8,260 high-earning households.

—Money is moving to the Carolinas. North Carolina and South Carolina ranked third and fourth for most high-earning households moving in, with a net gain of 5,792 and 5,270 households, respectively. The average household income of high-earning households moving in is $456,000 for North Carolina and $501,000 for South Carolina.

—California and New York lost the most high earners. California ranked last for the net number of high earners moving into the state, with a total loss of 24,670 high income households. While New York lost the second-most high-earning households, its figure is less than half of California’s loss, at -12,040 households. However, the high earners who did move into California and New York this time had a higher average adjusted gross income (AGI) than those who left.

NC in detail

Net inflow of high-earning households: 5,792
Inflow of high earners (number of returns): 13,430
Outflow of high earners (number of returns): 7,638
Household income (AGI) for high earners moving in: $456,384
Household income (AGI) for high earners moving out: $299,005