SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Recent data shows that over the last two years, California’s population overall lost 500,000 people.
Susan Alkayssi has fond memories growing up in Sacramento.
“We used to go to San Francisco all the time and take trips to Lake Tahoe, enjoy nature up in California, so that was a lot of fun,” she said.
She moved out of state in 2020 and doesn’t miss it now that she’s gone.
“You know, how they say everything in Texas is larger? It's true," she said. "Everything is larger.“
While it's love that brought her to Houston where her husband lives, it’s the finances that make her say she doesn’t want to leave.
“Just housing would be just so expensive there," she sad about Sacramento. "Whereas over here, we would be able to buy a second home and make an investment rather than spending like $700,000 on a home in California to get something maybe half the size.”
She said safety is a factor too.
“In Sacramento, I've lived in areas where I don't, I couldn't imagine letting my children play outside,” she said.
However, for Blanca Nunez, it's politics that drove her and her family to leave Mountain House, California, where they've been for the last three years.
“It's one of the most beautiful states we've been stationed at, the weather is phenomenal, so much to do," Nunez said of California, "but then it's also been really scary. My kids are unvaccinated for the most part.”
She made the decision not to vaccinate her kids because of her daughter's disability.
“I already communicated with the schools there. They have services for my kids. They can attend without a problem," she said. "Pediatricians, they all take you if you are making different choices for your kids, where (California) you have to find a unicorn that will allow you to be part of their practice.”
They move to Texas on Sunday, and no longer need to rent. They purchased a home.
“Our money's going to go a lot further,” she said.
Census Data shows that just counting domestic migration in and out of the state, California overall lost 871,000 people from April 2020 to July 2022..
After accounting for international migration, the birth and death rate, California lost about 500,000 over two years. It was second only to New York, and one of only 18 states that saw an overall population decline. Texas and Florida saw the highest increases.
There are many reasons why people are choosing to stay in California, and it is still the most populous state.
Data from the United States Postal Service shows people moved to Miami more than any other city, but many cities in the west are up there. Salt Lake City, Utah was number seven. It's one of the reasons why their governor recently told Californians not to move there because they already have limited housing and resources.
The Public Policy Institute of California cites housing costs as the biggest driver, and as the state works to increase the number of units, the goal is the state will be able to keep people from leaving and hopefully start to see an increase in the coming years.
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