Results from the U.S. Census found that two Democrat-run states were almost tied for the highest population decline between April 202o and July 2022 over any other state.
Over one million residents left New York and California over the two years, according to the LA Times. Census data shows 524,079 people left New York and California lost 508,903 residents during that time, the outlet found.
Comparatively, Florida and Texas gained the most residents, with the sunshine state gaining 706,597 and the Lone Star state adding 884,144 residents between April 2020 and July 2022.
California exodus continues as population drops by 500,000 – Los Angeles Times https://t.co/IopWs3rSDT
— Hector Becerra (@hbecerraLATimes) February 15, 2023
New York came in higher than California because the state’s births did not exceed the number of deaths. Meanwhile, California saw over 200,000 more people born than die, according to the report.
Economic conditions in California are forcing residents to find different states to live in that better support affordable living, like lower housing prices, according to Paul Ong, director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA. (RELATED: British Energy Giant BP To Spend $1.3 Billion Buying Footing Into US Fuel Center Market)
“While salaries in other regions and states are lower, the cost of housing is even lower. This means that they have a higher standard of living because of more disposable income and/or high chance of owning,” Ong told the outlet.
Former San Francisco area resident Hari Raghavan told the LA Times in July 2022 that he and his wife left California for Miami because of the decline in quality of life and a dramatic increase in their cost of living.
Raghavan said their home was broken into four times, and even before the pandemic, his wife didn’t feel comfortable completing her seven-minute walk from the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station to their home without calling him on the phone.
“We moved to the Bay Area because we had to be there if you want to work in tech and start-ups,” Raghavan said, adding, “and now that that’s no longer a tether, we took a long hard look and said, ‘Wait, why are we here again?'”
“That forced us to question where we actually wanted to live,” he added.
California saw a 6% rise in violent crime from 2020 to 2021, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Homicide rates in the state jumped by over 41%, and aggravated assaults by 18%, the fact sheet showed. “Of the state’s 58 counties, 37 saw violent crime rise in 2021, with rates in 10 counties increasing by 20% or more,” PPIC found.