Manhattan attracted more interstate tax filers than any U.S. county, yet it lost roughly $922 million in adjusted gross income. The Internal Revenue Service published county migration files for the 2022-to-2023 period on March 20, 2026.
The figures cover New York County, which shares Manhattan’s boundaries. More filing households arrived from other states than departed, but the outgoing group reported substantially more income.
More filers, less income
The result placed Manhattan at the center of an unusual national migration pattern. The borough led all counties in net interstate tax-filer growth while suffering one of the country’s largest income losses tied to movers.
The latest county migration analysis identified a $922 million decline in adjusted gross income. That figure measures annual income reported by migrating filers, not accumulated wealth, property, or business assets.
The difference matters because a county can gain households and still lose taxable income. A smaller number of affluent departures can outweigh a larger influx of moderate-income residents.
Manhattan’s totals point to that income imbalance. The borough remained attractive to newcomers, but arriving filers did not fully replace the earnings of those who left.
IRS data track addresses
The IRS builds its migration files by matching addresses on individual tax returns filed in consecutive years. The files track returns, exemptions, and adjusted gross income as they move between counties and states.
A tax return roughly represents a household, while exemptions provide an estimate of the number of people covered by those returns. Adjusted gross income includes wages, business earnings, investment gains, and other income before many deductions are taken.
The files do not explain why someone moved. They also do not establish that taxes, housing costs, or political preferences caused any relocation.
Work changes, retirement, family needs, and remote employment can affect migration. Housing prices, climate, and access to larger homes may also influence where households settle.
That limitation makes the figures useful for measuring movement, but not personal motivation. The data show where income moved but do not explain the reasons behind each address change.
Statewide losses remained large.
Manhattan’s inflow contrasted with a broader outflow in New York. The state lost a net 74,482 tax returns during the same filing period.
The New York migration tables show the heaviest losses among working-age taxpayers. New York lost 20,613 returns from filers ages 26 to 34 and 23,076 from those ages 35 to 44.
The state gained 7,920 returns among primary filers younger than 26. That split suggests New York continued to attract younger adults while losing more households at later career stages.
Income differences sharpened the fiscal concern. New York lost a net of 10,498 returns reporting at least $200,000 in adjusted gross income.
Queens recorded a net interstate loss of 17,109 filers, while the Bronx recorded a net interstate loss of 16,319 filers. Nassau and Suffolk counties also ranked among the country’s largest outflows of county residents.
The state’s overall loss improved from the previous annual period. New York had lost about 110,000 returns between 2021 and 2022, when post-pandemic migration remained higher.
Florida led the destinations.
Florida received the largest net flow of New York returns. About 43,187 returns moved from New York to Florida, while 22,011 moved in the opposite direction.
That created a net movement of 21,176 filing households toward Florida. New Jersey followed with a net gain of 16,906 New York returns.
North Carolina gained 6,905, Pennsylvania gained 6,231, and Connecticut gained 5,049. Texas posted a net gain of 3,528 returns from New York.
The destination list shows that households did not follow one route. Some moved to nearby states, while others relocated hundreds of miles south or west.
Proximity to New York City may help explain movement toward New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Housing, employment, retirement, and family connections may also shape those choices.
High earners support revenue.
The loss of affluent households carries added weight because New York uses a progressive income-tax system. A relatively small group supplies a large share of state and city collections.
New York City’s city income tax review found that personal income and pass-through entity taxes generated $18.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Those collections represented 23% of all city tax revenue.
The same review found that the city’s high-income tax base remained resilient through 2023. Collections also recovered above pre-pandemic levels after severe disruption during the early pandemic years.
That strength complicates claims of a fiscal collapse. Manhattan can lose income from migration while the city still benefits from wage growth, investment gains, business profits, and Wall Street bonuses.
The risk lies in sustained losses over several years. Repeated departures among high earners could narrow the tax base and increase budget pressure during an economic downturn.
A weaker economy could make that concentration especially important. Falling investment income or financial-sector bonuses could reduce collections even without another surge in migration.
Latest data leaves a warning.
The 2022-to-2023 files show Manhattan still attracts households from across the country. They also show that fiscal growth alone does not guarantee stronger public finances.
The borough added more interstate-filing households than any other county, but the newcomers earned less income than departing taxpayers. That gap offers a clearer measure of fiscal pressure than population totals alone.
No newer county migration period has replaced the March 20 release. The current figures leave New York officials with a direct test: retain the residents whose incomes carry an outsized share of the tax system.
