Last Updated on November 26, 2025 by The HD Post Staff
CALIFORNIA – A new report by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) found that California loses one taxpayer every 1 minute and 44 seconds.
NTUF spokesperson and report author Andrew Wilford said taxpayers want to live in states that do not treat them as endless sources of funding for politicians’ pet projects.
“While many politicians and pundits claim that tax-and-spend policies are what Americans want, the reality is that, year after year, there is steady movement from high-tax states to more fiscally responsible ones,” Wilford said.
The analysis draws on IRS data tracking how many taxpayers move into and out of each state every year.
The report found that the latest IRS migration data release, covering residency changes between 2021 and 2022, shows that California lost 302,543 taxpayers, on net, to other states.
NTUF said one way to conceptualize that data is to calculate how often, on average, a taxpayer enters or leaves a state.
Coming in second place behind California is New York with taxpayers leaving every 2 minutes and 23 seconds. Illinois is in third place with taxpayers leaving every 6 minutes and 4 seconds.
Photo credit: NTUFTop states gaining residents
According to NTUF, states gaining taxpayers more frequently are Florida (every 2 minutes and 9 seconds), Texas (2 minutes and 53 seconds) and North Carolina (6 minutes and 21 seconds).
“Interstate movement is proof that Americans want lower taxes and limited government, and you can measure it with your watch,” Wilford said.
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