Wealthy Gen Xers Are Moving To These 10 States In Droves

Written by Chris Illuminati on August 11, 2021

Want to know which states have seen the biggest influx of wealthy Generation X members in the last year? The 2021 report from the National Association of Realtors has all of the answers as to where Generation X is moving.

According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, Gen Xers made up 24% of homebuyers over the last year.

This home buying trend is the highest of any generation in that time frame.

Some states have been much more attractive to the high-earning generation in recent years. A new study by SmartAsset analyzed home buying data to identify the top states where Gen Xers making at least $100,000 per year are moving.

To determine where rich Generation Xers are moving, SmartAsset looked at data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and defined rich Generation Xers as “individuals ages 35 to 54 who have adjusted gross incomes of $100,000 and above.”

More specifically, the company looked at the following two metrics:

“Inflow of rich Generation Xers. This is the number of individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 with adjusted gross incomes of at least $100,000 who moved into the state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2018-2019.

“Outflow of rich Generation Xers. This is the number of individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 with adjusted gross incomes of at least $100,000 who moved out of the state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2018-2019.”

Here are the top ten states that saw the biggest arrival of Generation Xers moving over the last year.

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. North Carolina
4. Arizona
5. South Carolina
6. Tennessee
7. Idaho
8. Colorado
9. Washington
10. Nevada

Here are more key findings about Generation X moving from the SmartAsset study:

Southern and Western states dominate the top. The top 10 states in the study represent the South and West (according to Census regional divisions) equally. Some of these states – notably Florida and Texas, which ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively – have no state income tax. This could be a factor that attracts Gen Xers with high incomes.

States that are home to the largest U.S. cities are seeing outflows. Comparatively, states at the bottom of the study have more residents moving out than moving in. These include California, New York, and Illinois (ranking No. 51, 50, and 49, respectively), where major cities like Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago have an outflow of people leaving for other places.

To see the entire report, head over to Smart Asset.