Struggling Financially? Try Changing City/State/Country!

Over the past five years, I have lived in 3 different states. I moved because I was offered higher pay and better opportunities to grow my career. My higher pay and career growth would not have happened if I hadn’t moved.

How To Choose The Right State

The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes excellent information on industry, wages, and GDP which is our starting point for this discussion. There is something called the Pareto Principle which basically states that 80% of the wealth is owned/produced by 20% of the population. This begs the question which states produce 80% of the wealth in the country?

State	GDP (millions)
California	3641643
Texas	2402137
New York	2048403
Florida	1439065
Illinois	1025667
Pennsylvania	911813
Ohio	825990
Georgia	767378
New Jersey	754948
Washington	738101
North Carolina	715968
Massachusetts	691461
Virginia	663106
Michigan	622563
Colorado	491289
Tennessee	485657
Maryland	480113
Arizona	475654
Indiana	470324
Minnesota	448032
Missouri	396890

I did some research and came up with the table below but then created the map below to make it easier to see where the economic growth is in the country.

The states colored green produce $2 trillion or more in GDP so ideally those might be your first look. Texas has the added bonus of not having a state income tax. California generates the most GDP but is also one of the most expensive states to live in along with New York.

Pick A City

After deciding on a state, it is likely that you’ll need to pick a city or a suburb of a city to live in and commute. The vast majority of GDP in each state happens in major cities and in Texas those would be Dallas, Houston and the Austin/San Antonio area. These three cities account for 80% of the states GDP!

I mentioned that I lived in three different states over the last five years and moving took a great deal of research, planning, and execution so if you are struggling right now, start planning!

Pick A Country

If neither a new city or state works for you then consider moving to a new country. There are stories of labor shortages all over the world right now. There is also a large growing movement of young people opting to work overseas to get a better quality of life for those lucky enough to have a remote office job and can take advantage of being a digital nomad.