By Adam Pagnucco.
In Part Three, we explored Montgomery County’s loss of taxpayer income to the rest of Maryland, other states and foreign locations. Today, we will start naming the other jurisdictions from which we have net losses as well as net gains.
Let’s start with the places from which we have had net gains in real adjusted gross income (AGI), stated in 2021 dollars, over the last decade.
District of Columbia
MoCo Net Gain in AGI, 2011-21: $1.138 Billion
MoCo has almost always had a net gain from D.C., but it really picked up during the pandemic years of 2020 (+$229 million) and 2021 (+$383 million). Overall, D.C. had record out-migration of AGI in those years with $3.1 billion leaving in 2020 and 2021.
Arlington County, VA
MoCo Net Gain in AGI, 2011-21: $48 Million
MoCo varies between gains and losses from Arlington, but the pandemic years of 2020 (+$31 million) and 2021 (+$14 million) tipped the flow in MoCo’s favor. As with D.C., the pandemic saw large outflows of AGI from Arlington overall.
Alexandria City, VA
MoCo Net Gain in AGI, 2011-21: $34 Million
MoCo’s pattern with Alexandria resembles Arlington, with losses immediately after the Great Recession followed by gains more recently. It’s noteworthy that Alexandria had perhaps the weakest economy in the region in my recent nine-part series on economic data.
Prince George’s County, MD
MoCo Net Gain in AGI, 2011-21: $24 Million
MoCo alternates between gains and losses from Prince George’s. The decade saw a net gain because of 2017 (+$26 million) and 2021 (+$17 million).
Tomorrow, we will look at the places to whom we have lost the most taxpayer income over the last decade.