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 Successful millennials are much more interested in moving out
of Illinois than into Illinois, according to a recent study.
SmartAsset recently looked at population shifts for those younger than 35 with
adjusted gross incomes of at least $100,000, and found Illinois was losing these
successful young adults at a faster pace than every other state except New York.
Illinois lost 2,248 of these millennials while New York lost 4,867 from 2015 to
2016.
They were mostly moving to California, which gained 3,597 young residents.
Washington, Texas, Colorado and Florida rounded out the top five destinations.
Other top states were coastal or sunny, with the exception of landlocked
Tennessee ranking No. 9 for drawing rich millennials.
 Illinois’ losses are not surprising given that the state has lost population
every year for the past five years. Each day 313 people on average choose to
leave Illinois.
Two polls conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in 2016 and
University of Illinois at Springfield in 2018 both found about half of
Illinoisans considered moving out of the state. The poll last year found two of
three Illinoisans younger than 35 considered a move. When asked why, the top
response in both polls was high taxes – outranking reasons such as corruption,
government dysfunction, bad weather and job prospects.
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Rich millennials’ outmigration patterns hurt
Illinois. When they move, communities lose current and future
leadership, innovation and wealth. What they leave behind is a
shrinking, aging population trying to shoulder an ever-increasing
tax burden.
Instead of creating an environment where affluent
millennials want to stay and raise families, state leaders continue
to aggravate the top reason residents consider a move: taxation.
Illinois lawmakers just passed 21 new or increased tax and fee hikes
as they passed a record $40 billion spending bill and $45 billion
infrastructure bill.
Even with all that new taxation, the fiscal year 2020 budget is as
much as $1.3 billion out of balance.
The millennial flight numbers are more than three years old, so
newer estimates are unlikely to show better news, especially because
the state in 2017 raised the income tax rate to 4.95% from 3.75%.
With Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers pushing a repeal of the
state constitution’s flat tax protection to be replaced by a
progressive state income tax, expect more pain for taxpayers and
then greater harm to the state’s economy.
Then expect even more of Illinois’ future to move away.
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