Don’t Look Now, But This Study Says Texas Is Getting More Young Professionals

It’s not often the wealth comes to you.

For Texas, that’s the case. The state had a net gain when it came to rich young professionals moving in from 2019 and 2020.

Texas was the most popular destination for wealthy Millennials, according to a SmartAsset report. The state had a net gain of 3,823 Millennials (15,024 in, 11,201 out) — the highest of any state and the District of Columbia.

In a more general study by SmartAsset in 2021, Texas had the best net migration in the U.S. with a gain of 33,277.

In the current study, rich young professionals are defined as those under 35 years old with adjusted gross incomes of at least $100,000. SmartAsset analyzed data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Just like other migration totals, California and New York had the biggest outflow of high-earning young professionals. Florida ranked behind Texas in net gain, which makes sense because of the lack of a state income tax.

Texas has been climbing SmartAsset's rankings for the past four years.

• 2019: Texas was third behind California and Washington with a net gain of 1,878.
• 2020: Texas was again third, behind Washington and Colorado, with a net migration of 1,804.
• 2021: Texas ranked second, behind Washington, with a net migration of 2,183.

In two previous versions of the study, California's migration leveled out. But in the newest study, California had a net outflow of 7,960 rich young professionals, the second-highest in the report.

What is SmartAsset? New York-based SmartAsset publishes articles, guides, reviews, calculators, and tools to help people make decisions about personal finance.

Report review: SmartAsset has a nice dynamic table that we're able to embed above. It's a two-bunny rabbit hole. 🐇 🐇