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

A man was charged for allegedly acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign manager for a political candidate in Southern California who was elected in 2022 to the city council.

Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, was also accused of conspiring with another man — John Chen — who had been plotting to target U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday. Chen was sentenced last month to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.

Sun, a Chinese national who resided in Chino Hills, California, had served as the campaign manager and “close personal confidante” for a political candidate who ran for city council in Southern California in 2022, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, Sun communicated with Chen about his efforts to get the candidate elected.

“Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the (People’s Republic of China) could ‘influence’ local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan,” prosecutors said.

After the candidate was elected to office in November 2022, prosecutors alleged that Chen instructed Sun to submit reports on the election that could be sent to Chinese government officials. Chen remained in frequent contact with Sun and told him in early 2023 that the two men were “cultivating and assisting (politician’s) success,” according to the complaint.

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In another exchange, prosecutors said Chen instructed Sun to refer to the politician as a “new political star” in a draft report. Chen also critiqued Sun’s draft report and suggested that he add information about their “past struggle fighting Taiwanese independence forces in a named California city over the years and fighting (Falun Gong) influences in that city,” according to the complaint.

The complaint added that in February 2023, Sun sent Chen a proposal to combat “anti-China forces” by participating in an Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C. Sun also requested that the Chinese government provide $80,000 to fund pro-PRC activities in the United States, the complaint states.

If convicted of all charges, Sun faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Sun’s arrest comes just months after a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and her predecessor Andrew Cuomo were charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government. Linda Sun, Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, was arrested and pleaded not guilty in September.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that Linda Sun had used her state government service “to further the interests of the Chinese government” and the Chinese Communist Party. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars,” Peace added.

Contributing: Reuters

A Chino Hills, California man has been arrested for allegedly working as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while also serving as the campaign manager for a local politician who was elected to office in 2022.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said 64-year-old Yaoning “Mike” Sun was arrested on Thursday and charged with acting as an illegal agent of China as well as conspiring with another man, Chen Jun, who was sentenced to prison in November for bribery and also acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

According to a criminal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday, Sun served as campaign manager for a Southern California politician who was not named and only identified as “Individual 1” in the complaint. Individual 1 was ultimately elected to a city council position in a city not named in the complaint, in 2022.

Sun and Chen communicated during the campaign to help get the individual elected.

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The DOJ said Chen allegedly spoke with Chinese government officials about how China could “influence” local American politicians, especially on the topic of Taiwan.

Shortly after Individual 1 was elected to office in November 2022, Chen allegedly told Sun to prepare a report on the election. The report was sent to Chinese government officials, who the complaint says responded positively and expressed thanks.

Nearly a month after the individual was elected, Chen also set up a lunch with Sun and others at a Rowland Heights restaurant. The gathering was described to a PRC official by Chen as a “core member lunch,” the DOJ said. Individual 1 was not reportedly at the luncheon, though Chen told the Chinese government officials the individual was part of the “basic team dedicated for us.”

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Chen told the PRC official the lunch was “successful,” adding that attendees agreed to create a “US-China Friendship Promotional Association.”

In early 2023, Chen allegedly instructed Sun to compose another report for PRC officials about the two of them “cultivating and assisting” with Individual 1’s success.

As the second report was being finalized in February 2023, Sun sent Chen a proposal to combat “anti-China forces” by marching in a U.S. Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C., the complaint noted.

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China’s President Xi Jinping talks after joining a group photo during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

While the two men continued their efforts in the U.S., Sun allegedly asked the PRC to provide them with a budget of $80,000.

The complaint alleges that Chen and Sun spoke about a planned trip to China to meet with “leadership.” It also claims Sun was directed by Chen to set up a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles. In August 2023, Sun and Individual 1 eventually traveled to China, the complaint alleges.

Sun could face up to 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government if he is convicted.

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He also faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars for conspiring to commit an offense against the U.S.