What do California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York have in common?  Well, according to the latest IRS tax migration data, those five states all rank at the bottom of the list for losing the most taxpayers, the most adjusted gross income (AGI), and the most AGI per taxpayer.  Since 2012 all of these states have lost millions of income dollars through the outmigration of taxpayers.

And where did those taxpayers go?  Mainly to Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina.  The average net migration of AGI for all 50 states was just under $30 million, while the average outmigration of dollars for the bottom five was $11.5 billion.  California alone lost over $24 billion. 

To learn more about where your state ranks in net migration of AGI, taxpayers, and exemptions, go to Data-Z.org.  

The IRS Migration of Adjusted Gross Income data reflects the net amount of taxable income a state gains or loses due to interstate migration. The amounts given here are derived by calculating the difference between the adjusted gross income (AGI) associated with taxpayers entering the state and the AGI associated with taxpayers leaving the state. 

According to the IRS, "Migration data for the United States are based on year-to-year address changes reported on individual income tax returns filed with the IRS. They present migration patterns by State or by county for the entire United States and are available for inflows—the number of new residents who moved to a State or county and where they migrated from, and outflows—the number of residents leaving a State or county and where they went." SOI Tax Stats - Migration Data  The IRS data includes the total amount of adjusted gross income on those returns.

For more information about methodology see the IRS Migration Data Users Guide.

The IRS Migration of Adjusted Gross Income Ranking indicates how the states compare on a scale of 1-50 regarding the total adjusted gross income migration. A higher ranking, such as number one for Florida, indicates that the state had the highest net gain in adjusted income migration of all the states. The lowest ranking (50) indicates that the state had lower net AGI migration, and possibly even a negative AGI if more money moved out of the state than into the state. 

The IRS Migration of Adjusted Gross Income Per Taxpayer is obtained by dividing the IRS Migration - Adjusted Gross Income value by the Taxpayers Estimate. The IRS Migration of Adjusted Gross Income Per Taxpayer Ranking from one to 50 indicates how states compare to one another. The lowest ranking (50) indicates that the state has the lowest net AGI per taxpayer migration, whereas a higher ranking indicates a higher net per taxpayer adjusted gross income.