The California Exodus is quickening, and it turns out the people leaving don’t have to wander too long to find a new promised land.
That’s the takeaway from several recent reports showing that the population decline in California is becoming extreme, but that the people who choose to leave the state are finding life much better—certainly more affordable—elsewhere.
Census data published in late March highlighted a dramatic population drop in Los Angeles County from 2024 to 2025.
“The region recorded the largest population drop of any in the nation between July 2024 and July 2025, according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau,” the New York Post reported. “The data, published March 26, shows roughly 54,000 residents left the county during that one-year period. The losses mark a continuation of a steady slide for the nation’s most populous county.”
LA County’s population dropped below 10 million for the first time since 2020. It appears that outlying regions have particularly benefited from the departures, including Las Vegas, which saw a population increase of 20,000.
As more than a few noted on social media, it’s remarkable that people want to leave Southern California. But the high cost of living, crime, poor governance, and general disorder are making it intolerable for many.
While there are many reasons an area can experience a sudden population drop, LA’s precipitous one coincides with a general trend for the Golden State. Much of the state has been bleeding residents (particularly middle-class ones) for over a decade. The numbers stabilized due to immigration, but now that is petering out, too.
The problem is obvious. People don’t leave California for Texas for the better weather, they go because they can’t afford to stay in a state with high taxes (if you buy Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “low-tax state” spiel, you are a chump), an outrageous cost of living, and dysfunctional government to boot.
When the price of gas in your state is generally 50 cents higher than the next highest state, you know you have a problem.
But California’s powers that be appear to be in no hurry to fix the situation. The California Air Resources Board aims to choke the remaining oil refineries out of existence. Lawmakers are looking to go back to the well of taxing the rich, which will allegedly solve all problems. And Newsom has chosen to mock journalists for uncovering fraud in his state while bragging about how wealthy it is.
This has caused many people, whether they’ve wanted to or not, to pull up stakes and leave the state that used to be the American dream within the American dream.
And leaving has turned out for most expatriates to be a wise financial choice.
A study by the University of California, Berkeley found that Californians who left between 2016 and 2025 have generally found more affordable places to live and have seen “large increases in homeownership.”
“On average, movers relocate to neighborhoods where monthly housing costs are $672 less,” the report said. “After seven years, they are 48% (or 11 percentage points) more likely to own a home.”
Renters are doing better, too, as the study found that for those who left California: “Rents are about 30% (or about $631) lower in their new neighborhood.”
Funny enough, most people moving out find greener pastures in states more known for their deserts. “Nevada is the standout, receiving a net 81 Californians per 10,000 residents annually, followed by Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona,” the report found.
This all comes down to what the study called California’s “affordability crisis,” where most residents simply can’t find a way to make a decent life for themselves and their families.
Keep this in mind as Democrats talk about “affordability.” Talking about affordability on the campaign trail is one thing, but governing is another. In states like California that are blue state model-maxxing, pretty much nothing is affordable unless you are rich or on the public dole.
The California dream is dying as its residents are waking up to dehydration, an empty wallet, and a financial headache that won’t go away until they do.
