Housing is being cited as the primary reason many lower income and middle class Californians are leaving the Golden State in search of a more affordable cost of living.
Jed Kolko, chief economist with employment website Indeed.com, says Census Bureau data from July 2016 to July 2017 show that California saw more migration out than in during that period. In fact, California had a net loss of more than 138,000 people, while nearby states like Texas, Arizona, and Negada gained between 38,000 and 79,000 new residents. CNBC reports that these three states were popular moving destinations for outgoing Californians between 2015 and 2017, as were Washington and Colorado.
"You can literally have a lot of buying power for the dollar in Southern Nevada versus Southern California," said Christopher Bishop, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. "So it has been a major trend over the year, year and a half, and we're seeing it increase." Bishop said some people who work for Silicon Valley companies are even working remotely from home in Las Vegas to avoid the higher housing costs in California.
