Census Numbers Reveal Massive Exit From California

Whether due to a rising crime rate, the high cost of living, far-left environmental policies, or any number of other reasons, Californians are becoming increasingly disillusioned with their state.

That trend is evident in a cursory review of 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data, which showed that 343,230 residents left the state. It represents the third straight year that the Golden State’s population has decreased.

California Department of Finance Deputy Director of External Affairs H.D. Palmer reacted to the “domestic migration” problem that has plagued the state for years, noting that many people who choose to leave do so for economic reasons.

“If you talk to demographers, they’ll say that one of the factors is the cost of housing,” he said. “And that’s continued to be a challenging issue for the state.”

Aside from individuals who want to escape the state’s high taxes, an increasing number of companies are also choosing to relocate their headquarters. 

Stanford University’s Hoover Institution dug into the data for a report earlier this year, noting that nearly a dozen Fortune 1000 companies have fled California over the past three years.

Researchers determined that “companies and people are leaving the state for more affordable, less regulated, and less taxed locations,” concluding that the “process will continue until the state’s political leaders make very different policy choices that create a different future for California — one that honors its remarkable past.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) sent a letter to Twitter CEO Elon Musk in a bid to convince him to relocate the social media company’s headquarters.

For his part, however, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previously expressed concerns that importing disaffected tech companies to his state could result in imposing California’s problems on Floridians.

“In Florida, I think we’ve done very well, particularly over the last few years, attracting businesses that are producing things,” he said. “Importing some tech company from San Francisco has not been high on our list. I think that what happens is they’ll tend to come in, they drive up the cost of living for everybody else.”

Census data shows that Florida’s population grew faster than any other state this year. 

The top three states for population loss were all deep blue states. Behind California at the top of the list were New York and Illinois.