Demographics and Migration of Colorado Income Tax Filers
Prepared by Office of Research and Analysis
October 2022
Overview
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Income Tax Return
Age
Single vs. Joint
Tax Data
Job
Location
Income
Children
Outline
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Methodology
What we did:
How we did it: GenTax; SQL code; Excel
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Total Filers < Total Population
Total 2020 Population: 5,782,914 (Colorado State Demography Office)
Total Tax Year 2020 Filers: 3,714,181 (64%)
Filer counts exclude:
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Filers Represent 29% - 90% of County Populations
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Compared counties with highest (Top 5) and lowest (Bottom 5) percentages
Filer % of Population by Age Group
Average Income by Age Group
Migration Definitions
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Filers Who Stayed
Same location both years
New Filers
New to the location
Filers Who Left
Left the location
Total Resident Filers
(New + Stayed)
Net Migration
(New - Left)
Year 1
Location
Year 2
Location
Migration at Three Location Levels
State
Region
County
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State-Level
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State: Total Resident Filers (New + Stayed)
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YOY Growth Rates | |||
| New | Stayed | Total |
2021 | 2.8% | 1.7% | 1.9% |
2020 | 9.4% | 1.3% | 2.1% |
The numbers to the right of the bars are Total Resident Filers
New Filers = 10%
Filers Who Stayed = 90%
State: Net Migration
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The numbers to the right of the bars are Net Migration
Pandemic effect?
YOY Growth Rates | |||
| New | Left | Net Migration |
2021 | 2.8% | 5.2% | -4.8% |
2020 | 9.4% | 6.3% | 21% |
Region-Level
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Region: Total Resident Filers in 2021
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84% of filers live in the Front Range
New filers are 11% - 16% of the total filers in each region
The numbers to the right of the bars are Total Resident Filers
Region: Net Migration from 2020 to 2021
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For every 1,000 filers there were 21-40 net new filers
The numbers to the right of the bars are Net Migration
County-Level
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County: Population & Net Migration are Correlated
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Net migration decreased 55-65% in 2021 for these high population counties:
Boulder, Jefferson, and Denver
Pandemic effect?
County: New Filer Composition in 2021
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48% of new filers moved from another county or from out of state
The numbers to the right of the bars are Total New Filers
52% of new filers did not file a return in 2020
Demographics
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Income Tax Return
Age
Single vs. Joint
Location
Income
Demographics Definitions
Single vs. Joint: One or two tax filers per return
Age: Age of filer on December 31st of the tax year
Income: Federal adjusted gross income (AGI)
For joint returns, divided AGI in half
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Number of Filers and Median Income Vary by Age
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Average age is 46
Median income is $43K
Number of Filers & Median Income by Age (2020)
Steady increase of filers up to age 30
Median income peaks at $59K at age 50
Joint Filers Have Higher Income
Median Income for Single & Joint Filers by Age (2020)
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Joint filers earned 20 - 40% more than single filers for ages 30 - 73
Single income remains fairly flat after age 28
Income peaks at age 50
Age and Income Vary by Migration Status
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New Filers and Filers Who Left tend to be younger & have lower income
Filers Who Stayed are oldest & have highest income
Age & Income (2020) by Migration (2020 to 2021)
County-level Income & Home Prices are Correlated
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Average Home Price
Source: Zillow home value index by county, 2020
Average Income
Source: 2020 Colorado Income Tax Returns
Correlation = 0.95
How Could You Use This Data?
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Key Takeaways
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Migration
Key Takeaways
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Demographics
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Thank you!