The U.S. Census Bureau issued a report Thursday analyzing population and migration trends affecting the nation and individual states. The report shows that California lost more residents to other states this year than any other, making this the third consecutive year the Golden State’s population has declined. This year, California had a net population loss of more than 300,000 people.
California was one of 18 states that experienced a net population loss this year. Even though it led the country in total population loss, the overall percentage loss of 0.3% was lower than last year’s 0.9%.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 300,000 people left California in 2022, more than left any other state, amid a general slow increase in the U.S. population as the country recovered from COVID-19. https://t.co/oXaSD1XbWV
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 24, 2022
The Census Bureau provided the report through its Population Estimates Program, which looks at public records involving births, deaths, and migration.
California Department of Finance deputy director of external affairs H.D. Palmer told local reporters after the latest census report that he believes housing costs are the most important cause of migration away from the state.
Other reasons for recent increases in California’s population losses are the lockdowns on businesses imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), high taxes, surging violent crime rates, and widespread homelessness.
A report published in October by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University said businesses moved their headquarters out of California to other states in 2021 “at twice their rate in both 2020 and 2019, and at three times their rate in 2018.”
The industries most affected in California by outgoing migration are financial services, health care, manufacturing, and real estate. The report found that most businesses moved away to “more affordable, less regulated and less taxed locations.”
New York and Illinois followed California at the top of the list of states losing the most residents this year.
The fastest-growing state in 2022 was Florida, with a population increase of 1.9% to more than 22.2 million residents. This is the first year since 1957 that Florida led the nation in percentage population growth.
Texas and North Carolina rounded out the top three states for overall population growth.
International migration rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia compared to last year.
