Florida to Replace New York as Third Most Populous State

Florida to Replace New York as Third Most Populous State

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida is poised to replace New York in 2014 as the third most populous state in the nation. 

One salient reason for the switch is that 50,000 people are moving from the Empire State to the Sunshine State every year, and surprisingly, most of the emigres are under the age of 60. In the five-year American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census from 2007 to 2011, 78% of those who moved from New York to Florida were under age 60.

The survey also showed that the numbers of the New Yorkers fleeing to Florida who were in their 30’s and 40’s were almost as high as the retirees moving south. That means that either the onerous taxes in New York or the better business prospects in Florida were enticing them to leave. New York’s state and local tax burdens, reaching 14%, are the highest in the country. Combine that with federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, and workers in the lower-middle-class can wind up losing almost 35% of their paychecks to taxes.

Florida, conversely, has no state income tax.

In addition to Florida siphoning off people from New York, New York’s population is growing by only 1% each year while Florida is growing at 2.7% annually.

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