Fla. collects migration income

Floridians might want to send a juicy box of oranges up north and to several Midwest states in a friendly show of gratitude.

That's because onetime — and now former — residents of New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio, in addition to 37 other states, put Florida on top of a key economic indicator: The state is No. 1 in the country, according to the Tax Foundation, in gaining interstate movement annual income over the last decade.

In real terms that means Florida added $67.3 billion in annual taxable income from people who moved to the state from other states from 2000 to 2010, the foundation report shows. That total trounced the next two highest-gaining states on the list, Arizona at $17.7 billion, and Texas at $17.6 billion. New York lost the most income to other states over the decade, according to the foundation, with a drop of $45.6 billion. California, at -$29.4 billion, had the second biggest loss, followed by Illinois, at -$20.4 billion.

Even with the strong showing, there were still nine states to which Florida gave annual taxable income, in residents who left the Sunshine State for other locales. North Carolina gained $1.07 million in annual income from former Floridians over the decade, the report states. The other states, each with 10-year gains taken from Florida of less than $1 million, include Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas.

The Tax Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit independent research and analysis organization.

Here's a glance at the top 10 feeder states for Florida in obtaining $67.3 billion in annual taxable income from 2000 to 2010.