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FACT BRIEF

Is California losing population, including among those with high incomes?

By Todd Butterworth
View this fact brief on The Nevada Independent
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YES

After its population peaked at 39.6 million in January 2020, by July 2022 California lost 600,000 residents because of an increase in deaths and residents moving to other states, along with a decline in international migration.

Each year since 2018, California also experienced a net loss of high-income (five times the poverty level) working-age adults to interstate migration. The pace of this loss is accelerating, with a mild decline in 2018 and 2019, a moderate decline in 2020 and a steep decline in 2021.

These migrations are enabled by expanded opportunities to work online, and appear motivated by California’s high taxes and cost of living. The state has one of the most expensive median prices of a home in the nation and the highest top income tax rate. Nevada and other states with no income tax are leading destinations for departing Californians. California was one of seven states to lose population in the 2020 census.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Public Policy Institute of California About California's population
Public Policy Institute of California Who’s Leaving California—and Who’s Moving In?
Public Policy Institute of California Racial/Ethnic Differences in Who’s Leaving California
Press Reader Why high-income Californians are leaving
Motley Fool Average House Price by State
Intuit 10 states with the highest personal income tax rates
Nevada Independent 2020 Census highlights
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.