Lost/won seats 2

 (cont'd from yesterday)

It's said that people and businesses "vote with their feet" when they leave a state and go to another. Reasons for doing so are varied and personal, but some patterns and generalizations can nevertheless be drawn. Here are a few:

For the six states which gained population and gained House seats, the average top individual income tax rate was 4.4% in 2020. Two of those states, Texas and Florida, have no individual income tax. Average income tax rate in the states losing population and House seats was 6.5%.

The overall tax burden (including property tax and sales tax in addition to income tax) in the six gaining states averaged 7.9% compared to an average of 9.5% in the losing states.

In the six gaining states, average price of electricity is 9.4 cents per kilowatt hour. Electricity costs an average of 11.3 cents per kilowatt hour in the losing states.

In the six gaining states, unemployment (2019) averaged 3.4%, while the average among the seven losing states was 4.2%. 

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Americans tend to move "to states that are relatively more economically vibrant, dynamic, and business-friendly, with lower tax and regulatory burdens, lower energy costs, with more economic and job opportunities - from states that are relatively more economically stagnant with higher taxes and more regulations, higher energy costs, and with fewer economic and job opportunities."

from Carpe Diem