July 17, 2012
A Decade of Moving Next Door
I've been following taxpayer migration data for years, but in a haphazard way. A new study that I've coauthored for the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity finally gave me the opportunity to review all fifteen years of available data from the IRS.
The picture — from the 2003 beginning of what can only be described as an exodus — is frightening. After accounting for the tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders who moved to other states and other taxpayers who moved in the opposite direction, Rhode Island lost 24,455 households, with $1.2 billion of annual income (not inflation adjusted). More conspicuously, a net 3,406 taxpayers moved right across the border, to abutting counties in Massachusetts and Connecticut, taking with them $254.5 million in annual adjusted gross income (AGI).
Continue reading on the Ocean State Current...
Nothing new here. I cannot find the figures, but the last census confirmed that RI and Mass had been losing white population while their populations grew. The loss had been about 10% per decade, which slowed a few years prior to the 2010 census. This is believed to be the result of a sluggish economy not producing jobs in other areas.
I remember posting this on several boards (it was germane to an ongoing series of posts, particularly on a Audi board) at the time the figures were released. I was roundly condemned for being a racist. Fact is, this is important because we know what race the "high earners" are.
Posted by: Warrington Faust at July 18, 2012 12:25 AMThe average price of RI real estate was higher than eastern Ct.'s in much of the time Justin is using. I don't know about how southeastern Ma. compares with RI.
Posted by: Phil at July 18, 2012 6:19 PM