What does this income of leavers ranking show?

It orders states by Average income of departing households. It is a comparison of this one published measure, not an overall ranking of where to live.

Where do these figures come from?

IRS Statistics of Income, county migration supplies this measure. States without a comparable published value are shown as not ranked rather than estimated.

How should I use this ranking?

Use it to narrow a search, then open a state or county profile for the underlying figures, source dates and caveats. A statewide number may not describe every neighbourhood.

Rankings · Migration

Highest income of leavers by state

Average income of departing households.

This measure has no better end. The order describes the states, it does not rank them — see the other direction.

Average adjusted gross income of the households that moved away. Neither direction is straightforwardly good: leavers earning more can mean people priced out or cashing out, and the figure says nothing about why they left.

How to read this ranking

District of Columbia has the highest published income of leavers in this comparison, at $117,226. The next states shown are Massachusetts ($110,864) and New Jersey ($101,327).

The table orders 51 states by average income of departing households. It describes one published measure, not an overall judgment about where to live.

Use the result as a starting point, then compare the underlying source, dates, and local county figures before making a decision. Average adjusted gross income of the households that moved away. Neither direction is straightforwardly good: leavers earning more can mean people priced out or cashing out, and the figure says nothing about why they left.

1District of Columbia$117,226
2Massachusetts$110,864
3New Jersey$101,327
4California$100,397
5New York$99,412
6Connecticut$94,741
7Washington$92,005
8Illinois$91,318
9New Hampshire$85,873
10Colorado$82,027
11Maryland$79,633
12Virginia$79,310
13Rhode Island$79,163
14Pennsylvania$77,073
15Oregon$76,963
16Texas$76,329
17Nevada$75,612
18Delaware$74,163
19Minnesota$73,555
20Florida$71,952
21Utah$71,364
22Arizona$71,212
23Alaska$70,822
24Hawaii$70,594
25North Carolina$68,070
26Vermont$67,677
27Wisconsin$67,505
28Wyoming$66,874
29Georgia$66,345
30Ohio$66,322
31Tennessee$66,128
32Michigan$65,785
33Maine$64,914
34Nebraska$63,145
35Montana$63,045
36New Mexico$62,831
37North Dakota$62,731
38South Dakota$62,641
39South Carolina$62,530
40Indiana$61,692
41Kansas$61,646
42Missouri$61,610
43Idaho$61,228
44Iowa$60,949
45Alabama$60,118
46Kentucky$57,567
47Oklahoma$56,209
48Louisiana$54,962
49West Virginia$53,930
50Arkansas$53,077
51Mississippi$50,241

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Frequently asked questions

What does this ranking show?: It orders states by Average income of departing households. It is one measure, not an overall verdict on where to live.
Where do the figures come from?: IRS Statistics of Income, county migration. States without a comparable published figure are listed as not ranked rather than estimated.
How should I use it?: Use it to narrow your search, then open a state or county profile for the source date, caveats and local context.

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Source: IRS Statistics of Income, county migration. · How this is built

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