The California exodus continues, new Census data released Thursday shows. In 2022, more than 817,000 people left the Golden State for somewhere else in the U.S.
About 475,000 people decided to move to California last year, meaning California suffered a net loss of around 342,000 to other U.S. states.
As in years prior, Texas was the No. 1 target for people fleeing California. About 102,000 ex-Californians sought greener – or more likely, cheaper – pastures in Texas last year. That’s a modest drop from 2021.
Other popular destinations for Californians to move were Arizona (74,157 people), Florida (50,701), Washington (49,968), Nevada (48,836) and Oregon (36,429).
“We are losing younger folks, and I think we will see people continuing to migrate where housing costs are lower,” Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “There are good jobs in California, but housing is incredibly expensive. It hurts young families, and it hurts immigrant families.”
The least likely destination for someone leaving California last year was Delaware. Only about 600 people are estimated to have made that move.
Even when you consider births, deaths and international immigration, California still shrunk a bit last year, by about 113,000 residents. That being said, it’s still home to almost 39 million people and easily the most populous state.
The new data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. The survey happens more frequently than the official Census and gives people a better idea of changes happening in their community year to year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.