California not seeing supposed ‘mass exodus’
The Golden State isn’t losing much of its luster.
The supposed mass exodus that’s affected the Golden State amid the coronavirus pandemic isn’t an accurate depiction of moving patterns in the state last year, the nonpartisan California Policy Lab said in a press release Thursday, pointing to new research.
“While a mass exodus from California clearly didn’t happen in 2020, the pandemic did change some historical patterns, for example, fewer people moved into the state to replace those who left,” said Natalie Holmes, a CPL research fellow who authored the findings, entitled: “CalExodus: Are People Leaving California?”
Though Californians seem to largely have stayed put, in-state at least, Holmes noted the county level paints a different picture.
“San Francisco is experiencing a unique and dramatic exodus,” she explained, pointing to subsequent “50% or 100% increases in Bay Area in-migration for some counties in the Sierras.”
The research found that 38,800 net exits occurred from San Francisco from March 2020 to the end of the year, a 649% spike compared to the same period the year prior, which saw 5,200 net exits, the release notes.
Even so, about 80% of those who left San Francisco were found to have remained in-state, with a two-thirds majority staying in the Bay Area.
