Wealthy Young Professionals Are Leaving Illinois By The Thousands

ILLINOIS — Illinois lost more wealthy young professionals than almost any other state between 2019 and 2020, according to a recent study.

The Prairie State had a net loss of nearly 3,000 young and affluent residents during the study period, financial website SmartAsset reported in a summary of its assessment, which compared tax returns from 2019 and 2020 for residents younger than 35 who make at least $100,000.

The only states that outpaced Illinois in population loss for the considered demographic were New York, which saw a net outflow of almost 15,800 high-earning young professionals, and California, which had a net departure of 7,960 such residents.

Illinois came in third, gaining 6,527 affluent professionals under 35, but losing 9,386, for a net outflow of 2,859, according to SmartAsset. The District of Columbia and Massachusetts were fourth and fifth for net loss, respectively.

The study results come amid the departures of several large companies that have in recent months announced plans to move employees out of Illinois, including Tyson Foods, Citadel, Caterpillar and Boeing.

So, where are all these high-earning young professionals going? According to SmartAsset, Texas had the highest net inflow of such residents, with 3,823, followed by Florida, Washington, Colorado and New Jersey.