Wealthy Americans are packing up and shipping their belongings from Democratic states in record numbers, a startling new report reveals.
High-income earners in California and New York are leaving faster than everyone else, topping the list of 10 states seeing an exodus of their wealthiest residents.
New data from SmartAsset reveals a massive migration of households earning at least $200,000 or more per year.
California, the land of Silicon Valley and Hollywood glitter, said goodbye to 24,670 wealthy households.
Close behind is New York, where 12,040 of its highest-paid workers left.
High-income earners in California and New York are leaving faster than everyone else, topping the list of the 10 states seeing an exodus of their wealthiest residents (Crescent Bay from Laguna Beach, Orange County, California)
Close behind is New York, where 12,040 of its highest-paid workers left.
But it’s not just coastal states that are feeling the impact.
Midwestern Illinois came in third, saying goodbye to 9,292 wealthy families.
The list doesn’t end there. Massachusetts said goodbye to 4,392 wealthy households, while New Jersey saw 3,863 high-income earners pack their bags.
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia each lost more than 2,000 wealthy families, and Minnesota and Washington rounded out the top 10, losing 1,784 and 1,579 wealthy households respectively.
New Jersey saw 3,863 high-income earners pack their bags
Washington rounded out the top 10, losing 1,579 wealthy households
Massachusetts said goodbye to 4,392 wealthy households
Washington state, a tech haven, also lost 1,579 wealthy households
Experts say the perfect storm of sky-high taxes, rising living costs and the post-pandemic work-from-anywhere revolution is driving the massive flight.
In New York, 29,869 wealthy families fled the Empire State, compared to only 17,829 who moved there.
Washington state, a tech haven, also lost 1,579 wealthy households.
In California, 48,875 burdened families left, while only 24,205 moved out.
The Golden State has been battling problems of rising homelessness and open drug abuse in recent years in its major cities.
According to federal data, the number of homeless people in California rose 6 percent last year to more than 180,000. Since 2013, the numbers have increased 53 percent.
Californians have been leaving the state in droves in recent years due to this and the high cost of living.
Midwestern Illinois came in third, saying goodbye to 9,292 wealthy families
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia each lost more than 2,000 wealthy families.
In 2023, California’s population increased by 0.17 percent, marking the first year of growth since the mass exodus that began in 2019.
Meanwhile, last year many people and businesses in San Francisco fled the area to escape the city’s “vicious circle.”
The city, like Los Angeles, has been mired in crisis in recent years, with skyrocketing levels of homelessness and addiction.
Last year was the deadliest year on record for drug deaths, thanks in large part to the proliferation of fentanyl.
Progressive “harm reduction” policies that do not criminalise hard drug use have been blamed for worsening the crisis.