Forget California's exodus. Why do so few move here?

"Let me say for the umpteenth time, there is no California exodus. The Golden State's popularity among its own residents is among the nation's highest, as measured by the small share of residents who depart for other parts of the country. Its stagnant population challenge is really about the stunningly few Americans who relocate to California."

"These fresh demographic figures show California lost 661,000 residents to other states in 2024, the most exits in the nation. By the way, those departures are 16% below the 2021-23 pace. But before you shout "exodus," note that Florida was No. 2 at 506,000, followed by Texas at 483,500. There's a theme here. These economic rivals are also the nation's most populous states - California with 39 million, Texas with 31 million and Florida with 23 million. In a nation where 7 million people got a new home state in 2024, it's not totally unexpected that big states have more interstate moves. By the way, moving to another state is down 9% vs. 2021-23."

California lost 661,000 residents to other states in 2024, the largest numeric outflow in the nation, yet those departures were 16% below the 2021–23 pace. Nationwide, 7 million people changed states in 2024 and interstate moves fell 9% versus 2021–23. California's departure rate was 1.7% in 2024—below the U.S. rate of 2.1% and down from 2.0% in 2021–23—placing it among the states with the most resident loyalty. Michigan, Ohio and Texas had smaller departure rates. Large numeric outflows in California, Texas and Florida reflect population size more than higher per-capita exit rates.

Read at The Mercury News