While the number of millionaires in New York doubled during that period, other heavily populated states such as Texas, California and Florida saw their percentage of top earners triple, according to the report.

“Millionaires, both those living here and non-residents who pay taxes here, are critical to New York’s tax base, contributing $34 billion of State and City personal income tax revenue in 2022,” Ana Champeny, the commission’s vice president for research, wrote in the report. “While their numbers have grown, that increase has lagged the nation’s and many of New York’s competitors.” 

New York’s shrinking share has a “hidden cost” of billions of dollars a year in lost tax revenue for the state and local governments. The commission’s analysis found that if the state’s share of millionaires had stayed at 2010 levels, the state and New York City would have collected more than $13 billion in additional tax revenue in 2022. 

New York’s millionaires are critically important to the fiscal and economic viability of New York,” Champeny wrote. “There is perhaps no better way to fund critically needed services than to retain and grow millionaires in New York.” 

According to the latest Internal Revenue Service data, New York lost more than $14.1 billion in state-adjusted gross income between 2021 and 2022 as residents fled to New Jersey, Florida, and other low-tax states.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has blamed a lack of housing as the primary reason New Yorkers are fleeing the state, making the case for expanding housing stock and making existing homes more affordable.

But Republicans have long argued that New York’s outmigration is being driven largely by the state’s highest-in-the-nation tax burden, a business sector struggling under excessive regulations and rising labor costs.

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The report’s authors said that while anecdotal evidence suggests that New York’s taxes are a major factor in the exodus of wealth, high-tax California’s growing millionaire share “shows taxes are not New York’s only challenge.” 

“New York is likely losing ground because of a mix of factors in addition to taxes, including quality of life, social and cultural amenities, underlying economic trends, and the high cost of living,” they wrote. “Simply put, New York’s value proposition has not been attractive enough to keep up with millionaire growth nationwide.”