Dallas County lost 1% of the gross income from 2020 to 2021

Dallas - Dallas County saw a 1% decline in adjusted gross income from 2020 to 2021, due to an outflow of residents, as revealed in an analysis of tax data by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a nonpartisan think tank, Dallas Metro News reported. The departure of high-income residents significantly affected the local economy, causing a decrease of $565 million in adjusted gross income.

But the story in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was not all negative. Suburbs and exurbs outside Dallas County experienced a growth in adjusted gross income during the pandemic. The influx of residents relocating from city centers, as they reassessed their living arrangements in light of the pandemic, had a considerable effect on the geographic distribution of wealth generation, as pointed out by Axios' Neil Irwin.

This shift isn't solely a numbers game - it carries substantial implications for local economies. Those who moved out of larger cities were mostly high-income earners. Their departure had a greater impact on local economies than what might be inferred from mere migration figures. Even in cities without local income taxes, residents' incomes are essential to support the local housing market, retail sales, and tax base.

Collin County is one example of a neighbor that benefited greatly from this migration shift. The county saw a 4.7% increase in adjusted gross income from 2020 to 2021, adding $1.3 billion. Denton County experienced a similar rise in income, with a 7.2% increase. Tarrant County also witnessed growth, albeit more modest, adding over $119 million to its adjusted gross income. Additionally, several North Texas exurbs and rural areas experienced significant migration-derived income increases, with Kaufman County alone seeing a $259 million boost.

East Texas, identified as a pandemic growth region, saw hundreds of millions more in adjusted gross income, emphasizing the significant scale of urban income flight.

"The scale of urban income flight is a lot larger than I thought it would be," said Connor O'Brien, who conducted the analysis at EIG. "It's very likely that the last couple of years in superstar cities, high earners have become more mobile, while everyone else has been stuck."

Although this data only goes up to 2021, O'Brien believes that, while potentially diminished, these trends have likely continued based on other evidence. Supporting this notion, Dallas County, which saw a population decline between 2020 and 2021, rebounded by adding nearly 9,000 residents between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022.

Content credit: Dallas Metro News, Axios, Economic Innovation Group (EIG)