California exodus facts for kids
The California exodus is a term for when many people and businesses move out of California to other U.S. states. This often means they move to places like Texas and Florida. The idea of this "exodus" became very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. People debate why it's happening and how big of a deal it is.
California's Changing Population
California has seen many changes in its population over time. After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. At first, not many non-Native people lived there.
But then, the California Gold Rush happened. This brought a huge number of people to the state. California became a state in 1850. Between 1850 and 1860, the number of people living in California grew more than four times!
California saw more big growth after World War II. This was because of the aerospace and defense industries. Another growth spurt happened in the 1980s and early 1990s. This was due to the Silicon Valley tech industry.
However, population growth started to slow down in the mid-1990s. This was partly because the U.S. government cut spending on aerospace after the Cold War ended. It slowed down again after the Great Recession.
For the first time in over a hundred years, California's population actually started to shrink. This happened from 2020 to 2022. More people began moving out of the state than moving in.
For example, from July 2019 to July 2020, about 135,600 more people left California than moved into it. Since around 1989, California has lost more people to other states than it has gained. Between 2015 and 2019, the state lost at least 100,000 people each year this way.
Looking at the whole decade of the 2010s, about 6.1 million people left California. Around 4.9 million people moved in. This means California had a net loss of about 1.25 million residents.
In the past, California used to be a state where many people moved to. For example, from 1955 to 1960, California gained people from the ten largest state-to-state moves. But by 1995 to 2000, it was the opposite. California lost people to nine out of the ten largest state-to-state moves. Only New York sent more people to California than it received.
In 2021, over 360,000 people left California. Many went to states like Texas, Arizona, and Washington. Some even moved to Mexico. This was partly to avoid the rising costs of living in the U.S.
Businesses Moving Out of California
It's not just people who have been leaving California. Many businesses, especially tech companies from Silicon Valley, have also moved. While they've gone to different states, Texas has been a popular choice. Some well-known companies that have moved include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, and Tesla.
Is the "Exodus" Really a Big Problem?
Not everyone agrees that the California exodus is a huge crisis. Some experts say that while California's population growth is slowing, it's not a disaster.
For example, journalist Michael Hiltzik wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the recent changes are just a small step from what has been happening for decades. He and demographers (people who study populations) say California's situation is not like cities in the Rust Belt (like Cleveland, Detroit, or St. Louis). Those cities lost more than half their populations over 50 years.
Instead, many believe that the main problem in California is the lack of affordable housing. This makes it hard for young people to stay in the state. Some also think that worries about too many rules for businesses are exaggerated.
Researchers from several universities, including the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), also studied California's population. In 2021, they shared their findings. They found "no evidence of an abnormal increase in residents planning to move out of the state." This suggests that the idea of a massive "exodus" might be overblown.
