IRS: Tennessee $4.7B individual income increase from in-migration

(The Center Square) – Tennessee saw the fifth-largest population increase from other states between 2021 and 2022, according to new data released by the Internal Revenue Service.

Tennessee saw a net increase of nearly 60,600 during that calendar year, a population increase of 0.87% during the year, with a net increase of nearly $4.7 billion in adjusted gross income on individual tax returns.

Tennessee saw an increase of a net nearly 22,000 individuals from California between the two years and nearly 6,400 from Illinois while Tennessee saw a slight net loss in population to Georgia.

The tax returns from those who moved from California showed a net increase of $1.5 billion in annual adjusted gross income.

The IRS data is similar to U.S. Census Bureau data, which showed an 83,000 population gain from 2021 to 2022, a 1.2% population increase.

“I’m often asked why so many families & companies move from California to Tennessee,” Gov. Bill Lee wrote in March 2023 in response to a Tennessee crime stats tweet from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “People want to live in a low-tax state that supports families & believes freedom & opportunity belong to everybody – not just the elite.”