”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.
Buzz: The gap between Californians relocating across America and the smaller number of newcomers more than doubled between 2019 and 2021.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the Census Bureau’s state-to-state migration report for 2021, as it compared with 2019 data. The bureau skipped a 2020 report as pandemic limitations prevented a more accurate tabulation.
Note that the Census tracks residents, age 1 and older, and whether they moved to another state, relocated within the same state, or just stayed put.
Topline
Let’s look at California’s relocation mismatch, noting that interstate moves nationwide rose by 6% in these two years.
- More outbound: California lost 841,065 residents to other states in 2021, up 29% from the 653,551 exits in 2019.
- Fewer incoming: The state attracted 433,402 people from across the nation in 2021, down 10% from the 480,204 arrivals in 2019.
- That adds up to the state’s “net outmigration” – more outs than ins – ballooning by 135% in these two years to 407,663 in 2021 vs. 173,347 in 2019.
Exits
California lost more residents in 2021 than any other state. The next highest for outflow was New York at 571,041, Florida at 469,577, Texas at 447,363 and Illinois at 341,425.
If you consider California’s loss as a share of its 38.8 million population, the outflow looks relatively modest. Exits equaled 2.2% of all residents, a departure rate tied with Florida for 14th best and below the 2.4% of U.S. residents who switched states in 2021.
By this metric, Maine lost the smallest share of its residents at 1.4%. Then came Texas at 1.5% and Michigan at 1.6%.
Washington D.C. had the highest exit rate at 9.5%, then Wyoming at 6.1% and Alaska at 5.8%.
Arrivals
California ranked No. 3 for the number of 2021 newcomers. The top states were Florida at 674,740…
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