Californians are ditching the warm weather and scenic topography of the Golden State as its cost of living continues to climb and finding themselves ahead financially by locating to other western states.
That’s the conclusion of the University of Colorado’s California Policy Lab’s recent report “Priced Out: Relocation Amidst California’s Affordability Crisis.”
Daunting housing prices and rising everyday expenses — including gas currently around $6 a gallon, some $2 more than in many other states — are motivating residents to relocate to more affordable areas.
“On average, movers relocate to neighborhoods where monthly housing costs are $672 less,” the study found. “After seven years, they are 48% (or 11 percentage-points) more likely to own a home.”
The study analyzed credit bureau data tracking migration patterns from 2016 to 2025.
It found that part of the trend was generated by residents in desirable higher income communities who were no longer able to keep up with their wealthier neighbors and prompted the migration to states in the western regions of the United States.
According to the study’s executive summary:
People moving out of California increasingly come from higher-income neighborhoods and appear financially weaker than their neighbors. The share of exits from higher-income neighborhoods rose 19% over the last decade. Those who leave have $5,500 more in student debt, on average, and credit scores that were 17 points lower than their neighbors.
Proximity drives relocation popularity, with Nevada claiming the top spot. Nearby states receive the most Californians per capita. Nevada is the standout, receiving a net 81 Californians per 10,000 residents annually, followed by Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona. Contrary to most headlines, Texas and Florida rank only 11th and 20th, respectively.
The migration out of California was expected, but the extent of some of the differences in costs surprised some of the researchers.
“We expected to see people moving to cheaper locations in other states, but our analysis showed the average [home] costs dropping by nearly $400,000 – that’s a key data point for families who want to become homeowners,” Evan White, executive director of the California Policy Lab, told Fox 11.
“The likelihood of becoming a homeowner increased by nearly 50% for those who left California. That’s a big difference,” he added.
The housing cost differences were true for renters as well, with rents “about 30% (or about $631) lower in their new neighborhood.”
Even in its less costly regions, typically removed from the pricey coast, California remains expensive compared to much of the country. According to the report, residents pay about 11% more for groceries, 40% more for gas and 61% more for utilities than the national average.
Just how much population California has lost since reportedly nearly half a million residents in a state of 39 million were tracked leaving the state since the 2020 census has been up for debate.
According to non-partisan news service Cal Matters:
There is, however, no doubt that California is, at best, at a population plateau — either gaining or losing very slowly after a 175-year history of sometimes stunning levels of population growth. During the 1980-90 decade, for example, the state’s population soared by about 6 million people, a nearly 25% gain, thanks to high levels of immigration and a lofty birth rate.
The exit trend shows little sign of easing as California lawmakers weigh new taxes targeting the ultra-wealthy, “including a proposed 2026 ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals worth more than $1 billion,” Fox 11 reported.
Kevin Brady, former House Ways and Means Committee chairman and an advisor to Americans for Free Markets, previously told the outlet that “steep taxes and heavy regulation are driving businesses and individuals to leave blue states, calling it ‘the economic story of the decade.’”
“I don’t know why California continues to tax its businesses and people just so brutally,” Brady said. “It’s a beautiful state, it is a dynamic state, but they’re chasing out – not just the wealthy and not just businesses – but their young people.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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