Analysis of 2020-2021 tax return data shows Illinois lost a net 105,000 residents and a record $10.9 billion in income in 2020 to other states
CHICAGO, IL-(Effingham Radio)- Illinois continues to bleed people to other states. A Wirepoints analysis of the Internal Revenue Service’s latest 2020-2021 taxpayer data shows Illinois lost a net 105,000 residents in 2020, the 3rd-worst loss of any state. A total of 166,000 people moved into Illinois from other states in 2020, while 271,000 moved out of Illinois, resulting in that net loss of 105,000.
That’s the 2nd-worst loss of people in a single year Illinois has experienced since at least the year 2000.
Those leaving, on net, took over $10.9 billion in incomes with them – also the 3rd-worst loss of any state.
The latest IRS state-by-state migration data is based on tax returns filed in 2020 and 2021, covering taxpayers who moved from one state to another between 2019 and 2020. Wirepoints’ analysis includes a breakdown of migration data for all 50 states.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski weighed in on the new IRS numbers: “Illinois continues to be a national outlier when it comes to losing people to other states. We’re chronically losing our residents, their wealth and their productivity. And as more people leave, Illinois’ crushing debt burden rises on those who remain.”
The IRS migration report provides hard, indisputable data on the movement of Americans between states. The agency reviews tax returns annually to track when and where tax filers and their dependents move. It also aggregates the ages, income brackets and adjusted gross incomes of filers.
The new IRS data confirms that Illinois continues to lose in the nationwide competition for people and their wealth.
The key findings of Wirepoints’ report include:
Illinois was among the nation’s biggest losers, with a net loss of 105,000 residents in 2020. Those losses were the 3rd-worst in the country. Only California and New York lost more residents – 332,000 and 262,000, respectively.
On a percentage basis, Illinois ranked 5th-worst for out-migration, with a net loss of 0.85 percent of its population. Big states New York and California fared worse, with losses of 1.38 percent and 0.98 percent of their populations, respectively.
As a result of those migration losses, Illinois lost a record net $10.9 billion in Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in 2020. Illinois’ losses were the 3rd-worst in the country. Illinois’ losses were topped only by California and New York, which lost $29.1 billion and $24.5 billion in AGI, respectively.
But based on a percentage of total income, Illinois ranked 2nd-worst nationally for losses. Illinois lost 2.5 percent of its total AGI in 2020. New York was the worst, with a loss of 3.1 percent.
The Illinoisans who fled in 2020 earned, on average, $44,000 more than the residents Illinois gained from other states. Outgoing residents earned $118,000, while incoming residents made just $74,000. That’s the biggest gap since at least 2000, based on Wirepoints’ analysis of the IRS data.
When Wirepoints adds up Illinois’ income losses since 2000, it turns out Illinois has lost a cumulative $568 billion in AGI that it could have taxed over the 2000-2021 period.
The two biggest gainers nationally of people and their incomes in 2020 were Florida and Texas. Florida was the biggest winner by far, gaining a net 256,000 people and $39.2 billion in AGI. Texas gained 175,000 people and $10.9 billion in AGI.
Dabrowski says these results prove Illinoisans are voting with their feet: “Unfortunately, while politicians in other states work to keep their streets safe, to improve education and to lower taxes, the Illinois legislature shows no signs of pursuing education, criminal justice and pension reforms needed to make the state competitive. Expect the exodus to continue.”
Read Wirepoints’ full report, The Illinois exodus continues. New IRS data shows the Prairie State is nation’s 3rd-biggest loser of people and wealth to other states.
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