Just released - Income migration report

Income drain highlights Chicago’s value to M7
Milwaukee region loses $1.3 billion

A new Public Policy Forum study has found that households moving out of the Milwaukee region from 2001-2006 took with them $1.3 billion more in personal income than newcomers to the region brought in.

The report estimates the income drain has resulted in $105 million in lost tax revenue and thus a greater tax burden on those who remain in the region. But it also shows that the region is a big beneficiary of income moving from the Chicago area. In fact, southeastern Wisconsin’s only income gain comes from northern Illinois. Plus, Chicagoans brought with them higher average annual incomes ($47,880) than Wisconsinites who moved into southeastern Wisconsin ($34,124).

Sources of net personal income gain to the region include Lake, Cook, McHenry, DuPage, Will, and Kane counties in northern Illinois. Those six counties represented almost $400 million in income coming to the region during the period, 2001-2006.

Only Kenosha and Walworth counties in southeastern Wisconsin experienced net personal income gains last year. Kenosha attracted more than $30 million and Walworth was far behind at a little more than $3.2 million.

The primary beneficiary of the region’s income loss has been the rest of Wisconsin ($491 million), particularly the counties immediately ringing southeastern Wisconsin ($211 million), including Rock, Jefferson, Dodge, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan counties. Other top beneficiaries of the region’s income drain include Florida ($328 million), Arizona ($132 million), and Minnesota ($62 million).

Of the regions studied for the report, only the Phoenix area had a net income gain, of 1.6%, last year. Arizona’s Maricopa County (in which Phoenix is located) was the biggest recipient of southeastern Wisconsin income, at $107 million.

The Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul areas lost 1.0% ($2 billion) and 0.7% ($518 million), respectively, of their total personal incomes. The Madison area almost broke even, but still lost 0.1% in personal income. Southeastern Wisconsin’s loss was 0.9%.

Income data for the study came from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Census Bureau.