Florida attracted more than $41.1 billion in Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from 624,000 new residents that moved into The Sunshine State in 2020, according to a new IRS data analysis conducted by Wirepoints, an independent, nonprofit company that provides original economic research and commentary.
Florida has received a steady stream of new residents since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely predicated on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ commitment to prohibit lockdowns, close businesses, or shutter schools.
Because of these actions, lockdown-heavy states like California and New York were some of the highest state-of-origin points for new Floridians.
Florida did, however, lose $17.4 billion in AGI from 457,000 people who left. Despite this, the state emerged with a $23.7 billion net new taxable income, which marks a 3.3 percent rise compared to the year prior.
Given these metrics, Florida topped all 50 states in terms of domestic wealth migration, being the only state to have its AGI inflow more than double that of its AGI outflow. The state brought in $17 billion more than the second-highest ranked state, Texas.
Florida’s population and wealth growth extended to the business sector over the past two years.
May 2021’s LinkedIn Workforce Report published by Axios lists Jacksonville, the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale metroplex, and Tampa in the top 10 cities in the country for “in-migration” of LinkedIn professionals between November 2020 and April 2021 compared to November 2019 and April 2020.
Jacksonville led the nation in the analysis, which compares metro areas’ “inflow-outflow ratios” based on LinkedIn users’ profile location changes by comparing six-month spans year-to-year.
Jacksonville scored a 19 percent increase to lead the nation. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale placed fourth with a 13.5 percent gain, and the Tampa Bay Area ranked seventh with a 9.5 percent gain in LinkedIn users. Orlando finished 15th with a 2.16 percent year-over-year in-migration.
Florida’s manufacturing industry also experienced a boom as companies moved to Florida by the dozens, while DeSantis allocated funding resources to bring semiconductor manufacturing to Seminole County. Meanwhile, Miami has emerged as a burgeoning cryptocurrency and cryptofinance hub.
Florida was recently ranked as the second-best for business by Chief Executive magazine, ranking highly in metrics spanning taxation to education, quality of life, and population growth.
This year the rankings noted several major business investments in Florida over the past 12 months, including IT consulting firm Synergy Technologies adding 300 new jobs in Jacksonville, Scotlynn USA opening a new U.S. headquarters in Fort Myers, Pfizer announcing plans in February 2021 to open a global capacity hub in Tampa, KPMG doubling its investment in its Orlando operations along with 350 additional jobs in May of last year.
Also, InnovaCare moved its headquarters from New York to Orlando in July 2021, Grant Thornton established a center of excellence and created 60 new jobs in Orlando in July 2021, Terran Orbital announced in September 2021 a $300 million investment and 2,100 new jobs at its Commercial Spacecraft and Constellation Facility in Merritt Island.