New ranking shows WA loses another taxpayer every 30 minutes to another state
Washington is among the top states losing taxpayers the most frequently on net from interstate migration, according to a new ranking by a national tax-research organization.
The Evergreen State says goodbye to another taxpayer every 29 minutes and 55 seconds, ranking No. 43 in the nation, per data published Nov. 24 by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) that shows how fast taxpayers are entering or leaving each state.
California came in last place at No. 51, losing a taxpayer every 1 minute and 44 seconds, according to NTUF. New York and Illinois followed behind, counting respective taxpayer-loss-rates of 2 minutes, 23 seconds and 6 minutes, 4 seconds.
The three states welcoming a new resident most regularly are Florida (2 minutes, 9 seconds), Texas (2 minutes, 53 seconds) and North Carolina (6 minutes, 21 seconds), the ranking shows.
NTUF claims this trend illustrates that Americans don’t want to live in places with higher taxes.
“In short, interstate movement isn’t just a series of arrows in different directions, it’s proof that Americans want lower taxes and limited government — and you can measure it with your watch,” the organization said in a post on the ranking.
Critics have decried Washington state Democratic lawmakers for their move last session to adopt the largest tax hike in state history, which the majority party defended as necessary to continue funding core services amid inflation.
NTUF cited data from the IRS reflecting the number of taxpayers moving out of and into a state every year.
Of note: Although NTUF describes itself as being nonpartisan, the foundation’s National Taxpayers Union (NTU) affiliate has been flagged as right leaning by bias-check websites.
The November ranking illustrates that 16 states receive a new taxpayer on at least an hourly basis. Conversely, 11 states drop additional residents within that same time frame.
NTUF says that interstate migration lays bare resident preferences. The organization contends that the data show movement at a steady clip “from high-tax states to more fiscally responsible ones.”
“Taxpayers want to live in states that do not treat them as endless sources of funding for politicians’ pet projects,” NTUF wrote.
The ranking links to another NTUF post published in June that asserts wealthy taxpayers are packing up and moving to states with more favorable tax codes.
Washington taxpayers have left the state “at alarming rates in the wake of the state’s persistent tax hikes,” the earlier post says. NTUF cited the state’s 2021 capital gains tax and Amazon kingpin Jeff Bezos’ subsequent move from Washington to Florida.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
.jpg)