New data compiled by the relocation tech company moveBuddha has suggested that this exodus may continue to get worse in the next few years.

While some recent data has suggested that this exodus may be cooling down, new data from moveBuddha indicates the exact opposite.

However, a couple of centuries later, people have to go to California already wealthy in order to be able to stay there. If not, then they will struggle to afford to live and will likely end up moving elsewhere.

This is an overall net loss of 341,866. Since then, there has been an ongoing trend of people leaving the Golden State in favor of living somewhere cheaper.

It was predicted that the population would be at 45 million in 2020 and 60 million by 2040. However, the sad reality is that California had a peak of 39.5 million in 2020 and was at just over 38.9 million in March 2023.

Therefore, many people have looked up routes to move from various cities in the Golden State. Five different routes from California ended up in the top ten most popular routes searched, as seen in this report.

As Los Angeles has millions of people living in its city limits, it’s not too much of a surprise to see this city has the most exit searches on moveBuddha.

Other California cities also ranked high on this list, most notably San Jose. Many people looked up exit routes from San Jose to Seattle and Austin.

California is the second most expensive state to live in. The most expensive is Hawaii, with others in the top five including the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Alaska.

The cheapest state to live in is West Virginia. Others in the top 5 cheapest states to live in include Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama, and Mississippi.

If this mass migration isn’t seen this summer, then the near future could see the California population drop once again, if this data pans out to be true.

“Since California is a top move-out state and Los Angeles is its biggest city, moving costs can soar, especially in the summer when moving trucks all head in the same direction. With a professional moving truck, the trek east will cost movers between $2,056 and $10,356, depending on the size of their move and its timing,” the company stated.

However, other new studies have shown that the South and Southeast parts of the country have become desirable locations for many moving out of California.

Now, some of the most popular states to move to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida.

For many long-time natives of California, the state has simply become too expensive. Housing and rent have become astronomical in price.

This includes high taxes, high bills, lack of employment opportunities, the ability to work from home, tougher business regulations, and too much traffic.

As people would rather live in areas that have low crime rates, low pollution levels, and little to no congestion, these are giving people further reason to leave the Golden State.

Between 2018 and 2022, 352 businesses left California in favor of somewhere else, due to high rent, high taxes, high cost of living for employees, and red tape.

This is especially as the number of people leaving will have significant effects on the housing market, workforce availability, and tax revenues.

However, others who have left have noted how crowded these cities have become, which has only made traffic even worse.

As most people cannot afford this, they are having to try and downsize or leave California entirely in favor of a state that offers them much more for their money.

Governor Gavin Newsom has committed to building tiny homes for the homeless under a $1 billion plan. However, not a single person has been placed into one of these homes, and many are yet to be built.

“I think that that’s what California’s been doing for the last many years, is eliminating the middle class, and Governor Newsom loves to brag about how California’s economy is top five in the world, and then he came out bragging about how there’s now more Fortune 500 companies based in California than anywhere else in the country,” Gilliam explained. “But that’s for the wealthy, and in reality, the middle class is what’s suffering in California, and that’s why they’re leaving.”

All this goes to show is that more needs to be done by the Californian government to make significant changes if they want to make California a livable state that people are happy to call home.