Millennial high earners are hightailing it out of California and New York

As high-earning millennials use their economic heft to explore job opportunities, make lifestyle changes, and build families out of state, a new analysis of tax returns reveals which jurisdictions are winning – and losing – in the ongoing evolution of the US wealth landscape.

The analysis published by SmartAsset, which examined the latest available tax data, focuses on Gen Y households earning more than $200,000 annually. That puts them well above the median household income of $75,000 across all US households and squarely within the IRS definition of “high earners.”

Based on the analysis, California and New York were the biggest losers in terms of high-income millennial migrations. The Golden State saw the largest exodus, with a net loss of 9,181 high-earning millennial households while New York, which is home to the world’s wealthiest city, lost 4,251.

Other states, including Illinois and Massachusetts, also reported significant losses, with a net total of 3,163 and 1,927 households leaving respectively.

On the flip side, Florida emerged as top destination for money-making millennials, posting a net gain of 6,188 households. Texas ranked second, welcoming 5,151 households, while North Carolina came in third with a net increase of 1,970 households.

The analysis also showed a pronounced impact in states like Colorado and Georgia, where millennials represented a definitive majority of the net gain in high-earning households. In Colorado, 87 percent of the net 1,403 households earning over $200,000 per year were millennials. Similarly, in Georgia, millennials accounted for 895 of the 1,024 high-earning households that moved into the state.

And while Utah didn’t make it to the top 10 in terms of high-earning millennial immigration, it still stands out for having the highest proportion of wealthy households that are millennials. Of the 94,488 households in the state earning over $200,000 annually, 25 percent are from Generation Y.

The analysis offers an exhaustive new take on next-gen wealth, but it remains unclear just how many millennials are still HENRYs – high earners, not rich yet – and how many have officially achieved high-net-worth status.