First time in a decade, more money coming in than going out

(The Center Square) – For the first time in a decade, Kentucky is not seeing more money leaving the state than arriving.

That’s according to migration data for 2022 reported by the Internal Revenue Service.

Modest gains in population have been made, according to the data, which shows the number of returns, the number of people and the adjusted gross income listed on them. The data also breaks down to show how many people moved to another state or another county in the same state.

At $43.5 million in net adjusted gross income, 2022 was the first time the state finished in the black financially in the reports since it gained $61.4 million in 2012.

In 2022, there were 49,395 returns filed by individuals and households who filed the previous year in another state or moved to the U.S. from another country. Those returns included 90,639 individuals and adjusted gross income totaling $3.24 billion. Conversely, the number of returns for people who moved out of Kentucky in 2022 was 46,440. Those returns included 82,156 people and $3.19 billion.

It’s the third consecutive year and fifth time in six years Kentucky has had a net population gain from the IRS data. The net increase of 8,483 in 2022 is the highest in that timeframe. However, it represents less than 0.2% of the state’s 2022 population of 4.5 million.

The influx of residents and income is likely to continue. In 2022, the Republican-led General Assembly passed a sweeping tax reform bill into law over Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto. That measure allows the state to reduce its state income tax and potentially eliminate it once certain financial thresholds are met.

Not all of the news was positive from the IRS data.

Kentucky had a net loss of 995 people to Indiana, with adjusted gross income $34.2 million going with them. The Bluegrass State welcomed 508 more people who came from Tennessee than who moved to Kentucky’s due south neighbor. However, $44.1 million in adjusted gross income moved from Kentucky to Tennessee in 2022.

Tennessee does not have a state income tax.

Florida, another state without a state income tax, took the most from Kentucky in terms of people (1,665) and adjusted gross income ($291.7 million). Kentucky also had net migration and income losses to Georgia (105 and $10.5 million) and North Carolina (30 and $29 million).

The state’s biggest net gains came from traditionally blue states.

In trading with California, Kentucky picked up 2,627 more people than those who moved to the country’s most populous state. The exchanges also led to Kentucky picking up a net gain of $124.4 million in adjusted gross income. Kentucky also had a net gain of 1,113 people from Illinois, gaining $58.4 million in income, and the state scored a net increase of 960 people and $21.5 million in adjusted gross income from New York.