California suffers exodus as over 200,000 Americans leave state in one year

What’s New

More Americans left California between 2023 and 2024 than any other state across the country, according to new data released by the Census Bureau.

The Golden State lost a total of 239,575 residents to other states, the largest net domestic migration loss in the country over the past year. New York, another blue bastion in the country, saw the second-highest loss, losing a total of 120,917 residents between 2023 and 2024.

Why It Matters

The findings confirm an ongoing trend in the Western U.S. and specifically the Golden State, which has lost thousands of residents to the South in recent years, especially during the pandemic.

The California population drain, according to research compiled by the Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), is mainly due to people’s desire to live in more affordable places: several studies have found that the cost of housing alone is a key reason for people to leave the Golden State.

California is among the top five states with the highest overall cost of living in the country, SIEPR reported. The median sale price of a home in the state, according to Redfin’s latest data, is $831,300, up 4.7 percent compared to a year earlier. That was nearly double the nationwide median sale price of a home at $430,010.

Most of those who’ve left California in recent years have gone to states like Texas and Arizona—a red state and a swing state, respectively. President-elect Donald Trump won both in November. Two-thirds of those who moved out of California told SIEPR that they didn’t do so because of politics, but the political impact of their decision is undeniable. One quarter told the institute that they had moved explicitly for political reasons.

What To Know

Where California is losing, Texas is gaining. The Lone Star State continues to welcome new residents and lead the country with the largest net domestic migration gain between 2023 and 2024, totaling 85,267 new residents over the past year. Texas has several benefits attracting people that California doesn’t offer: the state has no income tax, it’s cut off from the Western Interconnection electric system and has been building more new homes, whereas the Golden State is still going through a homelessness crisis and a housing shortage.

Overall, the U.S. population grew by nearly 1.0 percent between 2023 and 2024, surpassing 340 million in total. This population growth, the fastest the country has seen in a year since 2001, was mainly due to rising net international migration, the bureau reported. Net international migration refers to any change of residence across U.S. borders.

Newsweek contacted the Census Bureau for comment by email on Friday morning.

What People Are Saying

“California is no longer the preferred destination it used to be,” Hans Johnson, a demographer at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, told the Los Angeles Times in April, discussing the issue of people moving out of the Golden State.

What’s Next

It’s not all gloom and doom for California. The state was among 47 including the District of Columbia which experienced population gains of over 100,000 people between 2023 and 2024, adding a total of 232,570 residents in the past year. Despite the fact the state is trailing Texas and Florida, it still reported the third-highest numeric increase in the nation.

The Golden State had the second-highest increase in births outnumbering deaths (what’s known as natural increase) after Texas, at 110,466.

Together with Florida (411,322) and Texas (319,569), California saw one of the largest gains from international migration, at 361,057. Net international migration refers to any change of residence across U.S. borders.

The Golden State was also the most populous in the country, with an estimated population of 39,431,263 residents as of July 1, followed by Texas with 31,290,831 and Florida with 23,372,215.

Overall, the U.S. population grew by nearly 1.0 percent between 2023 and 2024, surpassing 340 million in total. This population growth, the fastest the country has seen in a year since 2001, was mainly due to rising net international migration, the bureau reported.

Should it continue, California’s population drain could drastically change the state’s job market and fiscal outlook, as well as cause the state to lose further congressional seats.

Have you left California for another state in the past few years? We’d love to hear your story. Contact g.carbonaro@newsweek.com