When you crank up the heat at a party, people eventually bail for a room with better AC. Washington State is running the same experiment—only the “heat” isn’t temperature, it’s taxes. And guess what? Folks (especially the kind with private jets) are slipping out the back door and heading for cooler, cheaper states. It’s a trend lawmakers really don’t want on the dance floor.
Here are Five Fast Facts on the wealth exodus from Washington State:
- 🏃 Millennial Money-Movers on the Run - Between 2021 and 2022, Washington State waved goodbye to a net 222 super-earning young families making over $200,000 a year – that's the eighth worst in the U.S. for driving away its own cash cows!
- 👻 Gen Z Grads Ghosting the State - By mid-2025, rich young pros (think fresh-outta-college hotshots with fat paychecks) were bolting faster than a caffeinated squirrel – Washington State landed in second place behind only Illinois for losing these future moguls to tax-free paradises.
- 💲 Tax Haul vs. Brain Spill - The 2022 capital gains tax (fancy talk for "tax on your big stock wins") scooped up $1.2 billion...but many say it's chasing away innovators who could pump billions more into jobs and productivity for the state. It's like robbing Peter to pay for Paul's yacht escape fund!
- 👀 Millionaire Mirage - Washington State's millionaire squad ballooned almost 47% from 463,000 to 681,000 peeps between 2022-2024…but hold the confetti - that's mostly from lucky stock booms, not keeping the ultra-rich (the $50 million+ crowd) around and happy.
- 🤦 Big-Name Bailouts - Heavy hitters like Amazon's Jeff Bezos jetted to sunny Miami in 2023 for Florida's "no income tax plus beaches" deal, Elon Musk yanked Tesla (and himself) to Texas in 2021, and even Microsoft and Amazon execs are snapping up multi-million dollar mansions in Vegas. It's all to avoid the huge tax penalties that come from success in Washington State.
🔥Bottom line: Here's the big problem: these jet-setters aren't just hoarding gold in Scrooge McDuck vaults - they're the ones dropping fat cash on home makeovers, shiny new rides, startup dreams, and even charity cash that keeps everyday jobs humming for folks like us. Once they’re gone, who’s going to foot the bill for the actual needs of the state? If Washington State doesn't hit the brakes on these wallet-whacking taxes and red-tape mazes, it might end up as the ghost town of the Pacific Northwest, watching its economic fireworks fizzle out while Texas and Florida throw the real rager. It's time for policymakers to swap the tax hammer for a welcome mat!
What do you think about this?
Let us know by connecting with us on Facebook and Instagram! Also, remember to share this newsletter with your friends & coworkers!
BTW, If you’ve read this far and haven’t yet signed up for the weekly Paycheckology newsletter, CLICK HERE!
