Pennsylvania lost $1.7 billion in 2019 due to migration, study finds

Kevin Brine | Shutterstock.com Kevin Brine | Shutterstock.com

The collective wealth of Pennsylvania residents decreased $1.7 billion in 2019 due to population migration trends, according to a new analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by the nonprofit Wirepoints website. 

Overall, Pennsylvania lost 12,604 people that year, according to Wirepoints. The study looked at how shifting population numbers among the states led to changes in the overall adjusted gross income of each state’s population.

The performance of Pennsylvania in the analysis was the sixth worst among the lower 48 states, the authors said.

For those states attracting the most people and wealth, the result was economic growth and investment, as well as an expanding tax base. Those states suffering from migration outflows, however, experienced difficulties in paying down public debts as well as higher taxation, according to the study. 

A key downside for those states with continuing outflows of people and their wealth is that the losses affect not just the year when a resident leaves but subsequent years as well, according to Wirepoints.

Which States Gained the Most People, Wealth in 2019?

RankStateNet Adjusted Gross Income Gained/Lost (in Millions of Dollars)Net Number of People Gained/Lost
1Florida$17,689.82126,789
2Texas$4,016.52114,194
3Arizona$3,848.3265,967
4North Carolina$2,806.4548,434
5South Carolina$2,572.8641,443
6Nevada$2,119.3631,055
7Colorado$2,001.4418,888
8Tennessee$1,876.3934,003
9Idaho$1,238.0622,854
10Washington$1,130.4229,723
11Oregon$781.4015,028
12Utah$688.116,198
13Montana$481.115,410
14Georgia$421.0235,633
15Delaware$352.936,330
16Maine$333.735,379
17New Hampshire$321.014,441
18Alabama$261.018,752
19Wyoming$224.32434
20South Dakota$156.58376
21New Mexico$50.0818
22Vermont-$12.75-1,295
23Oklahoma-$28.113,885
24Arkansas-$54.112,220
25Rhode Island-$78.48-1,825
26Mississippi-$134.31-8,013
27North Dakota-$144.26-2,379
28Kentucky-$190.47-1,089
29West Virginia-$209.95-5,255
30Wisconsin-$237.68-1,213
31Nebraska-$245.51-4,592
32Indiana-$342.534,331
33Kansas-$390.57-10,416
34Missouri-$392.46519
35Louisiana-$484.90-18,897
36Iowa-$516.78-5,381
37Minnesota-$922.43-4,497
38Michigan-$1,134.62-13,616
39Virginia-$1,170.20-3,603
40Massachusetts-$1,432.52-25,834
41Ohio-$1,621.47-10,962
42Connecticut-$1,678.28-11,832
43Pennsylvania-$1,719.02-12,604
44Maryland-$1,837.62-15,892
45New Jersey-$3,106.98-26,528
46Illinois-$6,014.31-81,770
47California-$8,840.84-165,355
48New York-$8,994.95-152,703

Source: Wirepoints.org

The Center Square is a non-partisan, public interest news organization dedicated to the principles of transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility.

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