New data from a tech company has revealed that California’s ongoing exodus may continue — and get even worse in the near future.
For the past few years, many Californians have chosen to move out of the Golden State and live in another state, thanks to factors like high housing costs, high cost of living, and an increase in crime. Now, it appears that this exodus likely won’t end anytime soon.
A Fluctuating California Population
Earlier this year, analysts had theorized that California’s exodus may have come to an end, as the population in the state grew for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, now, various reports have emerged suggesting that more people are looking to flee the state — perhaps even as early as this summer, as many people move during the summer season.
Looking at Relocation Routes
MoveBuddha, a relocation tech company, recently released data that analyzes how people look at various relocation routes in the United States.
According to this new information, relocation routes stemming from California and heading to another state encompass much of the most popular searches on the platform.
Moving From California
For example, if people living in Los Angeles were looking to see what it would be like — and what it would cost — to move from LA to Dallas, Texas, they could use moveBuddha to gain a better understanding of this potential move.
With all of this data, moveBuddha has been able to anticipate migration patterns in the U.S. Now, the company has shown that Californians are looking to move out of the state again.
The Most Popular Relocations
This data reveals that out of the ten most popular relocation searches, five revolve around a route leaving a California metro area.
The most popular metropolitan move route according to this moveBuddha data is from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York.
Los Angeles Natives Are Fleeing
Of the five most popular California exits, Los Angeles relocations rank the highest. MoveBuddha claims that more people in Los Angeles want to move out of the city — as shown in these searches — than any other Golden State city.
San Francisco is the next runner-up. However, Los Angeles relocations still dominate, as there are 42% more outbound searches from LA than from San Francisco.
Relocations Per Capita
However, moveBuddha also analyzes data per capita, which changes things slightly. Per capita, more people want to relocate out of San Francisco than any other California city.
Los Angeles has a much bigger population than San Francisco. This may be why they have more people looking to move out of the city and find a new home elsewhere, whereas San Francisco takes home the prize per capita.
Where LA Residents Are Looking to Move
Those looking to move out of Los Angeles in the near future are looking to move to a few different states. The top relocation destination for LA residents is Dallas, Texas.
However, relocations from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Seattle are also very popular, as seen in this data.
San Jose Exits
While much of this data deals with exits from those who live in Los Angeles and San Francisco, other California cities may also see a mass migration in the near future.
For example, one of the top searches on moveBuddha revolves around people in San Jose looking to move. Popular relocations for those in San Jose include Seattle and Austin.
People Wanting to Move to California
Many people may be looking to move out of California in the near future. However, some of this new data has also revealed that Americans are looking to relocate to California, too.
The third most popular route searched for on moveBuddha was from New York to Los Angeles. Per capita, one of the top searches was from Seattle to San Francisco.
Why People Are Moving Out of California
Californians have decided to leave the Golden State behind for a slew of reasons. Many natives have begun to feel that the state has become increasingly expensive to live in.
The cost of living in California has skyrocketed in just the last few years. This has caused the price of homes to rise quickly, which has priced regular residents out of the housing market.
California’s Homelessness Crisis
California is also dealing with an ongoing homelessness crisis, a situation which is only fueled as the cost of homes and rent continues to rise to astronomical prices.
All of this has led to many people deciding to find a much cheaper home — and a more affordable cost of living — in states like Texas.
