New Yorkers moving out of state tended to flock to Florida, with New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut ranking as the next preferred destinations for outgoing New York City residents, according to a new study by the Empire Center think tank.
The study, which looked at migration patterns of New Yorkers using data from the Internal Revenue Service from 2000 to 2009, found that nearly 1.2 million taxpayers and their dependents moved from New York to other states in those 10 years.
The study also found that taxpayers who left New York State had average incomes 22 percent higher than those moving into New York in 2009, the most recent year for which data was available.
Florida was the most popular destination for outgoing New Yorkers, though the recession slowed migration there (the Sunshine State was especially hard-hit by the recession). By 2009, more New Yorkers were moving to North Carolina than to Florida.
In addition to Florida, New York City residents tended to move to other northeastern states. Nearly 40 percent of New York City residents moving out headed to neighboring states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut from 2000 to 2009.
Upstate New Yorkers, meanwhile, overwhelmingly favored the South and West.
Within the metro New York area, migration patterns reflected long-standing population flows from Manhattan to the outer boroughs; from Brooklyn to Staten Island; and from all five boroughs -- especially Queens -- to suburban counties.
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The average adjusted gross income of taxpaying households leaving New York between 2008 and 2009 was $58,899, while the average income of households moving into New York was $48,432. Non-migrating New York households as of 2009 had an average income of $63,630.
In the borough of Manhattan, the average out-migrant income of $98,637 was 36 percent higher than the in-migrant average of $72,293.
New Yorkers moving to New Jersey had incomes $10,579 higher than the smaller number making the reverse move. The differential was $23,751 among New York migrants to and from Connecticut, which also attracted the most affluent New Yorkers, on average.
The Albany-based Empire Center focuses on public policies related to the economy, taxes and spending, and public employment issues, among others.
