Are the rich really different from you and me, as the adage says? Yes, in many ways, from sometimes not having to ask the price of certain items they want to purchase to choosing different states where they want to live.

Those who earn more than $200,000 a year, a population based on 8.68 million tax returns in 2021, up from 8.57 million a year earlier in 2020, are moving mostly to Florida and Texas and away from California and New York, according to a recent report by SmartAsset, based on taxes filed between 2020 and 2021 for data from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

And that data is more than fodder for gossip since the number of these high earners can have a big positive effect on a state's tax base and finances. The $200,000 reflects filers with adjusted gross incomes of at least that amount and comes from the Internal Revenue Service.