New data show a net loss of roughly 216,000 Californians, with LA leading the outflow
California once again led the nation in outbound migration in 2025, as more residents packed up and left the Golden State than moved in, continuing a trend that has now stretched six consecutive years. New data from U-Haul, combined with population figures from the California Department of Finance and policy analysts, paint a picture of a state still struggling to retain residents despite modest overall population growth.
In 2025 alone, California recorded a net loss of approximately 216,000 residents. That follows a net loss of about 239,000 residents during 2023–2024, and even larger losses during the pandemic years. Between 2020 and 2023, California experienced more than 400,000 net outbound moves, marking the most dramatic population decline in state history.
U-Haul’s annual migration report once again ranked California dead last among U.S. states for net migration in 2025. While the company logged more than 2.5 million one-way truck rentals involving California, the balance tipped slightly toward departures. However, according to U-Haul, 49.4% of one-way customers were moving into California, while 50.6% were leaving — a small percentage difference that translates into tens of thousands of residents.
Those leaving California are largely relocating to nearby states. U-Haul identified Arizona and Oregon as the top destinations, along with Nevada, Texas, and Washington — three states that do not levy a broad-based individual income tax. California joined Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois as the five states with the largest net population losses in the country.
U-Haul says its extensive network of roughly 24,000 rental locations nationwide allows it to capture near-real-time domestic migration trends, often months before official government tallies are released. By contrast, the California Department of Finance, which factors in births, deaths, and international immigration, reported that California’s population grew slightly last year — by just 0.05% — underscoring how overseas immigration and natural population growth are barely offsetting domestic losses. The truck rental company also points to what it describes as a continuing “blue-to-red state” migration, a trend it says began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While U-Haul tracks only raw movement data, policy experts have studied the motivations behind the exodus.
Housing affordability remains the dominant factor driving residents out of California. Hans Johnson, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), said out-migration has been building for more than a decade, accelerating during periods of economic uncertainty. Family obligations and job changes also play a major role in relocation decisions. Politics may be another contributing factor. Eric McGhee, also a senior fellow at PPIC, has found growing evidence that political alignment is influencing migration patterns. Those leaving California are more likely to identify as Republicans, while new arrivals tend to be Democrats, reinforcing the state’s political makeup even as it loses population.
Economic pressures add to the push. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the cost of living in California is 12.6% higher than the national average. Housing is the single biggest burden, with home prices and rents running 57.8% higher than the U.S. average, placing ownership and even long-term renting out of reach for many middle-class households.
No city illustrates California’s population churn more clearly than Los Angeles, which continues to lose more residents than any other city in the state. High housing costs, long commutes, congestion, and quality-of-life concerns have driven tens of thousands of Angelenos to relocate in recent years, often to more affordable metro areas in neighboring states. Los Angeles County has been the single largest contributor to California’s domestic population losses since 2020.
Wildfires have also become a growing factor in Los Angeles’ out-migration. Repeated fire seasons, rising insurance costs, and concerns over air quality have pushed some residents to leave fire-prone areas of Los Angeles County, particularly in the foothills and wildland-urban interface zones. At the same time, job losses and industry contraction in the entertainment sector — long a cornerstone of the regional economy — have prompted workers in film, television, and related fields to seek more stable or affordable markets outside California.
Yet the story is not uniform across the state. Despite California’s overall losses, San Diego and San Francisco stood out in 2025 as the only California cities among the top 25 U.S. metros to record a net inflow of one-way U-Haul customers. Analysts attribute those gains to strong job markets, higher wages, and renewed urban demand following the pandemic.