Each year the Census Bureau publishes estimates of the domestic or state-to-state migration [\[1\]](https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/geographic-mobility/state-to-state-migration.html) within the United States.  This data is of U.S. citizens over the age of one year.  Looking through this data it's clear that there are two winners and two losers, California, Florida, New York and Texas.  

In 2016, these 4 states were associated with almost 2 million of the 7.5 million people that move from state to state.  Around one  quarter of all the people that moved from state to state in 2016 either moved into or out of these four states.  Here's the data:

| State | Moved Into | Moved Out Of | Net |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
Florida	| 605,018 | 433,452 | 171,566
Texas | 531,996 | 444,340 | 87,656
California | 514,758 | 657,690 | -142,932
New York | 260,723 | 450,136 | -189,413

Honorable mentions can be given to Illinois (net loss of -141,815 people) and Arizona (net gain of 81,154 people).  They were close.

Clearly there is something that gives U.S. citizens a preference for Texas and Florida over California and New York.  Even throwing Illinois and Arizona into the mix, my conservative mindset can pretty easily put some rationale behind these moves. 

These states also led the way with foreign immigrants moving into the U.S.  Of the 2.09 million foreign immigrants that immigrated to the US in 2016, 44% moved into these four states.  The net impact on the population is detailed below:

| State |  Net Citizen Migration | Foreign Immigration | Population Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
Florida	| 171,566 | 207,589 | 379,155
Texas |  87,656 | 224,913 | 312,569
California |  -142,932 | 332,197 | 189,265
New York |  -189,413 | 158,217 | -31,196

While California has been able to increase it's population through foreign immigration, New York hasn't done so well.  Illinois actually did worse than New York with foreign immigration at 64,093 leaving a net population decrease of 77,722.

States with high tax rates are loosing it's citizens to other lower tax states.  California has led the way with comments about becoming a sanctuary state and seceding from the United States to become it's own country.  If these states keep up this level of out-migration and foreign immigration, they won't have to secede, they will be different countries from the rest of us.