People Are Leaving California

In the dustbowl days of the depression, signs taped to westbound Model T’s frequently said “California Or Bust”. But now, eastbound cars might as well have signs taped to them saying “Busted by California”!

With the median sale price for a home in California now more than double the national average, citizens continue to exit the state in sizeable numbers. From 2006 to 2016 over a million more people moved out of California than moved in, with the high cost of housing appearing to be the #1 cause. A report from Next 10 and Beacon Economics showed that the high cost of housing is hitting lower-income people the hardest, driving them to more affordable neighboring states.

Most people leaving the state earn $50,000 or less per year. And while California is a still a net importer of highly educated professionals in the information, professional, and technical sectors that can afford the higher cost of homes, the accommodation, construction, manufacturing, and retail trade sectors are experiencing a huge exodus. Who will be left to serve drinks and food, turn down the sheets, build and clean the houses of all those software engineers?

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