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Americans moving to California at historically low rate 

Crime and housing costs are driving people out of the Golden State. Credit: Getty

November 3, 2024 - 4:30pm

The migration of Americans into California hit a historic low in 2023, according to new census data.

California ranked last in the US for the inflow of Americans from other states in proportion to its population last year, with 422,000 people moving there from other states. As the most populous state, California has 38.5 million residents.

At the same time, California saw more than 300,000 new residents enter the state from other countries, while about 690,000 people left California for other parts of the US. The migration of Americans to California was 475,000 in 2022 and 433,000 in 2021. But before the pandemic, there were about 500,000 moving to California from other states annually. Florida, by comparison, has 22.4 million residents and drew in about 637,000 residents in 2023.

California’s progressive policies have been blamed for surges in public disorder in the Golden State’s cities, particularly homelessness. It had the highest rate of homelessness in the US in 2022, when the state held more than a quarter of the US’s homeless population. Crime also saw a considerable uptick in the state during and after the pandemic. Cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco have been plagued by organised retail crime, a contributing factor to the widespread closure of major storefronts.

In addition to progressive policies, the state has been plagued by a high cost of living. Homes in California are about twice as expensive as the US average, and state regulations make it difficult and costly to build new housing.

The decline in domestic migration to California comes as its Governor, Gavin Newsom, has positioned himself as one of the leading faces of the Democratic Party. He aired ads in Alabama against the state’s abortion restrictions, and participated in a widely publicised debate against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He made a mysterious trip to the White House while Biden was away in 2022, sparking speculation that he wanted to replace Biden on the next Democratic ballot — a suspicion he did little to dispel in his public appearances.

Earlier this year, the state’s Department of Finance released data showing that California’s total population size grew slightly in 2023, for the first time since before the pandemic. These figures are produced by the state and differ slightly from the national census data, and they attribute the slight population uptick to immigration, births, and a slowdown in the trend of interstate net population loss. In response, Newsom boasted that “People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream and experience the success of the world’s 5th largest economy.”


is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

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UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
1 month ago

San Francisco has a lower-than-average violent crime rate when compared to other major cities. Of the top 17 cities for violent crime, five are from Texas (violent crime per 100,000): Houston 1,283; Dallas 901; San Antonio 735; Fort Worth 547; Austin 495. For California: Los Angeles 722; San Francisco 544. (Below top 17: San Jose 425; San Diego 369) Most of the crimes in SF are property crimes: larceny-theft, car theft, burglary. Obviously, this makes life miserable for the victims and those afraid they will be victimized.

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
1 month ago
Reply to  UnHerd Reader

Pity about the needles, urine and faeces on the pavements.

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
1 month ago

You’re right. I lived in San Francisco from 1982 to 1982. The streets were clean back then (except parts of Market)..There were some mentally ill people in the financial district where I worked briefly. But there were no big homeless camps that I knew of. San Francisco’s decline breaks my heart. It is one of the world’s most beautiful cities

nigel roberts
nigel roberts
1 month ago
Reply to  UnHerd Reader

FACT CHECK
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/most-violent-cities-in-america

Most Violent Cities in America 2024
Violent crime is defined as a crime in which the offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use force upon a victim. Violent crimes include homicide, murder, assault, rape, robbery, kidnapping, negligence, manslaughter, and sexual assault.
The FBI’s 2018 Crime in the United States Report shows that the violent crime rate in the United States for 2018 fell 3.9% from 2017. There are an estimated 368.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. This decrease has been attributed to the re-launched Project Safe Neighborhoods program, an initiative that brings together law enforcement, prosecutors, and community leaders to develop comprehensive solutions for the most pressing crime problems in their communities.
Violent crime rates vary greatly across the country, and some cities experience higher than average rates. Areas that see the highest crime rates have poor housing conditions, larger families with small incomes, bad health problems, and homes with parents who have previously been in trouble with the law. These impoverished areas also see the formation of gangs. The motivation for violent crimes can also include a lack of police funding.
The twenty cities with the highest violent crime rates (number of incidents per 100,000 people) are:
1. St. Louis, MO (2,082)
2. Detroit, MI (2,057)
3. Baltimore, MD (2,027)
4. Memphis, TN (2,003)
5. Little Rock, AR (1,634)
6. Milwaukee, WI (1,597)
7. Rockford, IL (1,588)
8. Cleveland, OH (1,557)
9. Stockton, CA (1,415)
10. Albuquerque, NM (1,369)
11. Springfield, MO (1,339)
12. Indianapolis, IN (1,334)
13. Oakland, CA (1,299)
14. San Bernardino, CA (1,291)
15. Anchorage, AK (1,203)
16. Nashville, TN (1,138)
17. Lansing, MI (1,136)
18. New Orleans, LA (1,121)
19. Minneapolis, MN (1,101)
20. Chicago, IL (1,099) 
No city in TX makes the top 20. California “boasts” three.

nigel roberts
nigel roberts
1 month ago
Reply to  UnHerd Reader

Duplicate post deleted.

Ex Nihilo
Ex Nihilo
1 month ago

While California’s outmigration engenders schadenfreude in the hearts of many non-progressives, it should be tempered by the unfortunate results of previous waves of migrating Californians in decades past. The Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington State) were inundated in the 1980’s in a wave that the locals dubbed “Californication”, which produced a profound leftward shift in the political and cultural atmosphere. The same happened to Colorado a decade later and flipped it from a solidly conservative to a liberal state. Idaho is experiencing it now. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily just frustrated conservatives who flee the Golden State but liberal hypocrites whose ideologies have soiled the nest and are looking for a new one to spoil.

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
1 month ago
Reply to  Ex Nihilo

Yes!

Carel de Goeij
Carel de Goeij
1 month ago

Go East! Go South! Go North! But don’t go West! Beware!