Tennessee among top 10 states where high-earning Americans are moving to, study says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - If you could guess where the highest-earning Americans are moving to in 2023, what states would be in your top 10?

Well, a new study from Smart Asset found that in the U.S., the highest-earning Americans are moving to Florida, Texas and North Carolina.

To go along with those three states in the top 10, Tennessee was ranked No. 6. The Volunteer State saw a net migration of just shy of 4,000 (3,917). The study’s rankings are based on the net migration of tax filers in each state with a minimum of $200,000 adjusted gross income.

“Seven of the top 20 states are in the Southeast. The high-earning population is growing in the Southeast, including in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas,” Smart Asset said.

Here’s how Smart Asset determined their rankings:

Inflow of tax filers making $200,000 and above. This is the number of filers with adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000 who moved into a state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2020-2021.
Outflow of tax filers making $200,000 and above. This is the number of filers with adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000 who moved out of a state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2020-2021.

“To rank the states, we determined each state’s net inflow of high-earning households. This is the inflow minus the outflow. We then ranked the states according to net inflow in descending order.”