You've heard about people leaving Manhattan for Palm Beach because the taxes in New York are just too darn high. But what about Virginia? Are people leaving because Virginia is considered a high-tax state?
Megan Davis at the Commonwealth Institute says the idea that taxes influence where people live is overstated.
"Our connection to place is more complicated than just taxes. While millionaires consider taxes more often when they are moving, they are less mobile than the general population because they have greater ties to place. They are more likely to have younger families and have businesses in the state," Davis argues.
Hamilton Lombard at UVA's Weldon-Cooper Center for Public Service says cost of living might be more of an influence than tax policy.
"Some of these areas like Bristol and Danville are pulling people in from Tennessee and North Carolina because even if tax rates might be higher, the cost of living is much lower in Danville and Bristol than when you go down to east Tennessee or now when you go down to Greensboro or Winston Salem."
For now, more people are moving to Virginia than leaving -- although that dynamic has shifted several times in recent years.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
