Texas and Florida get the most attention from conservative talk show hosts and other observers as the locations where residents are moving to avoid the high costs of blue states, but the latest data shows that South Carolina is actually growing faster than any other state.
Texas and Florida still are drawing the largest numbers of new residents.
However, South Carolina has a faster growth rate as Americans continue to relocate from states like California and New York, according to recently released IRS data reported by Fox News and analyzed by the nonprofit think tank Tax Foundation.
The traditional population shift toward the south is broader than previously thought, the outlet reported, as Americans report making the move for lower taxes, more jobs, and higher quality of life.
According to Fox covering the 2022 to 2023 data released by the IRS:
For its size, South Carolina is seeing the biggest influx per capita of new residents from other states, equal to just over 1% of its population. In other words, for every 100 people living in the state, one new person moved in from elsewhere in the country. The Palmetto State added more than 59,000 residents from other states between 2022 and 2023, based on the most recently available IRS data.
The movement isn’t just about people. It’s also about income. South Carolina gained more than 29,000 new tax filers and roughly $4.1 billion in income. This shift is likely to boost local economies in the state as new residents bring spending power and help fill open jobs in growing industries.
Texas and Florida are still drawing the most people, but even though they are bigger states by size and population the relative gains by percentage are less compared to South Carolina. Texas led the U.S. in new people with 56,473 new tax filers in 2023, followed by Florida with 55,349, according to the data.
Leading conservative radio talk show hosts like Sean Hannity and Buck Sexton on Rush Limbaugh’s old network frequently praise Florida as their refuge from previous residency in New York. The Will Cain show on Fox News television proudly advertises that it broadcasts from Texas.
Likewise, the population gains come at the expense of the nation’s most expensive states, where Democrats dominate state and local governments. They are seeing the biggest losses.
California is down more than 100,000 tax filers, New York by nearly 72,000, and Illinois by more than 28,000, from 2022 to 2023.
According to the Tax Foundation’s report:
This analysis of the latest state-level migration data reveals a continued and pronounced domestic shift: millions of Americans, along with significant amounts of income and economic activity, are moving from high-tax states to those with more competitive tax systems and lower overall costs of living. Tax differentials may not be the primary reason for an interstate move, but they are often one of several factors people consider when deciding whether — and where — to move.
The IRS data showed other southern states also were in the migration trend, with South Carolina in rounded-out figures gaining 29,000, Tennessee 24,000, and Georgia 15,000. In the west, Arizona gained 17,000 and Colorado 11,000.
Other Democrat-run states losing population included New Jersey at 19,000, Massachusetts at 15,000, and Maryland at nearly 14,000.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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