Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Texas, Utah and the Carolinas are enjoying a faster economic recovery from the pandemic than Democratic-leaning states, where residents and companies are leaving for lower-tax havens, according to a report.
Federal data shows that red states saw their share of total U.S. jobs increase starting in February 2020, a month before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper cited statistics from the Brookings Institution that said GOP states added 341,000 jobs over the past two and a half years.
During that same period, blue states lost about 1.3 million jobs.
Moody’s Analytics also analyzed migration data, which found that in the one-year period starting in February 2021, 46 million people moved to a different zip code.
The states that saw the biggest gains in net migration were Florida, Texas and North Carolina — each of which voted for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the last two elections.
Florida saw a huge population jump thanks to migration from Democratic-leaning states. EPA
The states that lost the most residents were California, New York and Illinois, which are controlled by a majority Democratic legislature and Democratic governors.
According to analysts, the migration can be explained by the closing of offices and the need to work remotely due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Employees who are no longer tied to their offices can move to countries that boast warmer climates, cheaper housing, less dense populations and lower costs of living while still working remotely.
Before telecommuting, employees gravitated to where company offices were located. But the pandemic gave workers a choice of where to live, leading to mass migration away from major coastal cities.
Shoppers browse stores along the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Bloomberg via Getty Images
The researchers found that people were also motivated to move to areas where it was cheaper to buy a home.
Housing in the 10 states that attracted the most transplants from blue-leaning states cost 23 percent less than the 10 states that lost the most residents, according to the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute .
The 10 states that gained the most migrants had an income tax rate of 3.8% – compared to an 8% income tax rate for the 10 states that lost the most residents .
Four of the states that acquired residents — Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Nevada — have no income tax.
Not only are employees heading to the Sun Belt, but their bosses are following.
Companies are also moving from blue-leaning states to red states to take advantage of lower taxes.
Tennessee, which has attracted businesses from high-cost states, saw its economy grow 8.6 percent last year, the highest in the nation. As a result, the state saw its lowest unemployment rate at 3.2% in April.
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