By Gay Cororaton, Chief Economist, MIAMI REALTORS®
Migration bolstered Southeast Florida’s aggregate household income by at least $10 billion in 2022, according to Miami Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) analysis of the recently released Internal Revenue Service 2021-2022 migration data.
Based on 2021-2022 tax returns data compiled by the IRS, the aggregate adjusted gross income of households who moved to a Southeast Florida county in 2022 was $28.2 billion, which more than offset the $18.1 billion of income lost from households who moved out, yielding a net gain of $10.1 billion to Southeast Florida’s economy. Adjusted gross income is income adjusted for allowable expenses (e.g., student loan interest, alimony, retirement contributions) so the $10 billion is a lower bound estimate.
While the net income gain is lower than in 2021 ($15.9 billion), this is slightly more than double the net income gain in 2019 ($4.8 billion).
There were 271,138 tax returns of households who moved to a Southeast Florida county in 2022 compared to 170,350 tax returns of households who moved out, or a net gain of 100,788. While this net gain is lower than in 2021 (107,934), it is still higher than the net gain in 2019 (90,261).
Households who moved to Southeast Florida had higher income than households who moved out or lived in the same county
Households who moved to a Southeast Florida county in 2022 from another Florida county, another state, or from abroad had higher income on average than households who moved out of the county or lived in the same county.
In Miami-Dade County, the average adjusted gross income of households who moved to the county (total adjusted gross income of movers divided by number of tax returns) was $175,600, which is 78% higher than the average income of households who left the county ($98,800) and 79% higher than the income of households who lived in the same county ($98,100).
In Broward County, the average adjusted gross income of households who moved to the county was $115,500, which is 35% higher than the average income of those who moved out ($85,400) and 19% higher than those who lived in the same county ($96,900).
Households who moved to Palm Beach County had the highest average income at $260,100 followed by Martin County at $209,600.
Florida and New York counties were the top origins of households who moved to Southeast Florida in 2022
Ten counties with at least 1,000 tax returns of households who moved to Southeast Florida were in New York (6), California (1), New Jersey (1), Illinois (1), and Texas (1) with migration rising in these ten counties or about at par compared to 2021 and 2019.
There are no state income taxes in these states. Real estate taxes are also higher in these states, based on MIAMI’s analysis of the median real estate tax to the median property values in 2022.[1]
Four Florida counties had at least 1,000 tax returns associated with households who moved to Southeast Florida, led by Orange County, followed by Hillsborough, Lee, and Duval counties. Orange County was the largest origin of Southeast Florida’s movers in 2022 (excluding inter-county flows among Southeast Florida counties).
Southeast Florida had a net inflow of movers with Orange, Hillsborough, and Duval counties and a net outflow with Lee County. Differences in job opportunities, lifestyle, and housing costs are factors that affect migration flows across Florida counties.
Migration into Florida expands household income by $36 billion in 2022
Migration has resulted in a net flow of income to the state of Florida. In 2022, the adjusted gross income of households who moved to the state of Florida from other states totaled $62.4 billion. This was reduced by $26.3 billion due to the lost income of households who moved out of Florida, yielding a net income flow of $36.0 billion to the state of Florida. Florida had a net income gain from all states except Mississippi.
Florida had a net inflow of over $1 billion from nine states in 2022: New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan. Households who moved from Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey had an average adjusted gross income of over $200,000.
[1] Florida Homeowners Typically Spent Less on Housing Expenses than Nationally in 2022 – MIAMI REALTORS®)
