A stunning $9.2 billion in income has followed more than 30,000 New Yorkers out of the Big Apple and down to the sun-drenched shores of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade over a five-year span, signaling a profound shift in wealth, population, and influence away from America’s largest city.
According to a new report by the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), a nonpartisan watchdog, this exodus took place between 2017 and 2022—with migration patterns accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, high costs of living, public safety concerns, and a growing dissatisfaction with urban governance.
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Palm Beach County gained nearly 20,000 former New Yorkers with an average per capita income of $190,000.
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Miami-Dade County gained over 26,000 residents from NYC with a per capita income of $266,000.
That’s not just a population shift. That’s a tax base transformation.
The CBC report illustrates how these high earners—many of them millennials—aren’t just trading one zip code for another; they’re taking a massive chunk of economic clout with them, weakening the city’s ability to sustain the very social and economic programs that drive its budget.
“Our competitiveness depends in part on quality of life and public safety,” said Andrew Rein, CBC President. His comment underscores the key issue: New York isn’t losing people randomly. It’s losing those with the most mobility and the most money.
And while international migration helped the city register population growth in 2023 and 2024—ending a six-year skid—the character of the city’s tax base continues to evolve. Meanwhile, suburban counties like Long Island (net gain of 138,000) and Westchester (net gain of 60,000) are also benefitting from NYC’s internal bleed, siphoning off residents and $16.1 billion in adjusted gross income between them.
In raw numbers, New York still has plenty of millionaires. Their count nearly doubled, from 36,000 in 2010 to 70,000 in 2022. But that masks a larger trend: New York’s share of the nation’s millionaires dropped from 12.7% to 8.7% over that time.
Meanwhile, states like Florida, Texas, and California are on the rise—welcoming high-net-worth individuals with open arms and (in Florida’s case) no state income tax.
Tracking the flight of wealth is more than a fiscal hobby—New York’s top 1% of tax filers contribute 40% of the city’s income tax revenue. When they leave, they don’t just take money with them—they erode the city’s budgetary foundation, shrinking what’s available for public services, infrastructure, education, and more.
The CBC’s data also shows that this trend isn’t just about the ultra-rich. It includes millennials, professionals, and young families, many of whom are choosing Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for better affordability, schools, and a sense of safety and stability.
