Young, rich Americans are leaving places like New York and California for more affordable living in Florida and Texas. But to find the highest concentration of wealthy young people, Washington is the place to be.
That's according to a recent analysis from SmartAsset, which looked at migration patterns of people ages 26 to 35 earning at least $200,000 per year in adjusted gross income, based on the most recent publicly available IRS numbers from 2021.
Washington state has more than double the average proportion of young high earners: 13% of people earning upwards of $200,000 are between the ages of 26 and 35, compared to a 5.7% average across the U.S.
The state just edges out California, where 10% of high-earners are young professionals. New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey also have high rates of high-earning young people.
Washington's young and wealthy demographic is buoyed by Seattle, where early-career workers can earn a lot in the high-paying tech and health care sectors. And Washington is one of a handful of states that doesn't charge residents a state income tax.
Living in Seattle can be a lucrative tradeoff to being in other pricey coastal cities, says Jaclyn DeJohn, SmartAsset's managing editor of economic analysis.
While Seattle prices are 44% higher than the U.S. average in early 2023, "costs in Seattle may feel like a relief" compared to living in Manhattan and San Francisco, where prices are 122% and 70% higher than average, respectively, DeJohn says.
After cost of living premiums and taxes, a $200,000 salary comes out to about $102,707 in Washington, she adds, but only $72,297 in Manhattan and $78,283 in San Francisco.
Elsewhere in the U.S., Florida has recently seen the biggest net migration of 2,175 young, rich newcomers. Texas saw the second-largest wave of young and wealthy new residents with 4,048 moving in over the course of a year, but also saw a large exodus, resulting in a net migration of 1,909 arriving and staying in the state.
Third-place New Jersey netted 1,048 new rich young professionals, even though wealthy people of all ages left the state at a high rate.
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