Kevin Garrett - Integrated Financial Group

Just because income numbers have ticked up over the last few years doesn’t mean every state’s economy is moving at the same pace — or even in the same direction. Visual Capitalist lays out median household income growth from 2019–2024, and the patterns are telling: opportunity isn’t evenly distributed. https://lnkd.in/enY537Di

📊 Fastest Rising Incomes:
• Colorado: +46.9%
• Georgia: +43.4%
• Maine: +36.3%
• Montana: +36.1%
• Tennessee: +34.0%

These aren’t just numbers — they reflect job markets, demographic shifts, and local economic momentum. For professionals thinking about relocation, businesses eyeing expansion, or planners assessing risk and opportunity, geographic income trends matter.

Growth that’s above average signals competitive advantage — and states outperforming the national median deserve a closer look.

I’ve been around long enough to know markets don’t wait for disruption to show up in earnings. They price the fear of it first.

Here’s the thought experiment making the rounds: build an AI tool for a specific industry, announce it with just enough ambiguity about “post-AGI economics,” and watch the incumbents drop 7–10% in a day. In theory, you short the industry, roll out the product, and let volatility do the rest.

Far-fetched? Maybe. But look at what just happened. A tax-strategy tool from a relatively unknown startup sparked a sharp selloff in firms like Schwab, Raymond James, and LPL. No collapse in revenue. No guidance cuts. Just perceived disruption.

This is the new reflex in markets: sell first, analyze later.

As a financial professional, I see two realities. First, AI will reshape margins, pricing power, and labor models across sectors. Second, markets can over-discount uncertain futures and fear gets capitalized quickly.

The real takeaway isn’t to trade the panic. It’s to understand how narrative risk now moves trillions before fundamentals ever change. That’s the environment we’re investing in.