Los Angeles Just Lost More Residents Than Any U.S. City – For the Fourth Year Running

Where 239,575 Californians Went

Los Angeles has held the top spot on America’s move-out list for four years running.

The 2025 PODS Moving Trends Report confirms what U-Haul data and Census numbers have been showing: Californians are leaving, and they’re heading to the same handful of states.

Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and the Carolinas keep absorbing the outflow. The median home in LA costs nearly $970,000.

In North Carolina, it’s around $330,000. That gap explains a lot, but it’s not the whole story.

California Lost More Than Any State

California lost 239,575 residents to other states in 2024, the largest outmigration of any state in the country. The losses have been building for years.

Between April 2020 and July 2022, the state’s population dropped by more than 500,000 people.

U-Haul ranked California dead last in its growth index for the fifth consecutive year, meaning more trucks left the state than arrived. The state still has 39.4 million residents, but domestic migration has turned sharply negative.

Seven California Cities Hit the Top 20

Los Angeles isn’t leaving alone. The PODS report placed seven California cities in the top 20 most-left metros.

San Francisco came in second, followed by San Diego at fifth. Stockton-Modesto dropped from the top 10 but still made the list at 13th.

Fresno and Bakersfield rounded out the bottom of the rankings.

Sacramento is the only major California metro not on the move-out list, making it the lone holdout in a state otherwise bleeding residents.

A Million-Dollar Median Pushes People Out

Housing costs remain the biggest driver. The median home in Los Angeles County sold for around $905,000 in late 2025, with the city proper closer to $970,000.

That’s more than double the national median and nearly three times the price in popular destination states. North Carolina’s median sits at $331,800, South Carolina’s at $298,000, and Tennessee’s at $319,300.

For families priced out of California, moving isn’t just appealing. It’s the only way to own a home.

Highest Tax Rate in the Nation

California’s top income tax rate reaches 13. 3 percent, the highest of any state.

Add the 1. 1 percent payroll tax for high earners, and the all-in rate hits 14.4 percent. Texas, Tennessee, and Florida charge no state income tax at all.

High earners leaving California consistently favor those zero-tax states.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, all net outflow of high-income earners now lands in states without income taxes. Middle-income families go wherever housing is cheaper.

Texas Keeps Winning the Numbers Game

Texas has been the top destination for former Californians for years.

Between 2022 and 2023, about 94,000 Californians moved to Texas, though that number dropped from 102,000 the year before. Dallas-Fort Worth returned to the PODS top 20 move-in list in 2025 after falling off in 2024.

The metro offers a strong job market, mild winters, and housing prices a fraction of California’s. San Antonio also reappeared on the list.

About 38,700 Texans moved to California during the same period, but the net flow still favors Texas by tens of thousands.

Myrtle Beach Wins Three Years Running

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, tied for the number one move-in destination for the third straight year.

The region offers median home prices around $350,000, mild four-season weather, and a cost of living about 8 percent below the national average.

Wilmington’s economy runs on healthcare, education, and a growing film production industry. Myrtle Beach leans on tourism and retirees.

North Carolina placed five cities in the PODS top 20, more than any other state.

Tennessee Becomes the New Magnet

Tennessee placed four cities in the top 20 move-in destinations: Knoxville at eighth, Nashville at ninth, Chattanooga at 11th, and Johnson City near the bottom.

The state has no income tax, affordable housing, and a job market growing in healthcare, tech, and manufacturing.

Chattanooga branded itself “Gig City” after rolling out citywide gigabit internet, attracting remote workers and startups.

Knoxville draws young professionals with access to the Smoky Mountains and a median home price around $300,000.

Florida Loses Its Grip

Florida had been a top destination for years, but the 2025 PODS report shows cracks. Tampa Bay appeared on the move-out list for the first time after spending years as a move-in favorite.

Only two Florida cities made the top 20 move-in list: Ocala and Jacksonville, down from six cities between 2021 and 2023. Home insurance is the culprit.

The average Florida homeowners premium is projected to hit $15,460 by the end of 2025, and home prices have jumped 60 percent since 2020.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused more than $100 billion in combined damages, straining an already broken market.

Remote Work Changed Everything

The pandemic made it possible to keep a San Francisco salary while living in Knoxville or Myrtle Beach. That shift hasn’t reversed.

Remote workers can buy larger homes in states with lower taxes and still earn what they did in California.

According to a Stanford study, college graduates and residents at all income levels are now leaving California at higher rates than ever before.

The flexibility of remote work turned what might have been a temporary migration into a permanent reshaping of where Americans live.

California Still Grows, Just Not Domestically

Despite the outflow, California’s population actually grew by about 230,000 people in 2024. The state gained 134,370 residents through international immigration and 111,527 through births exceeding deaths.

Those gains offset the domestic losses of 197,000. So California isn’t shrinking.

It’s changing. The people leaving tend to be middle-class families with children and workers without college degrees.

The people arriving tend to be immigrants and young professionals drawn to tech jobs. The state’s population will likely hold steady at 40 million for decades, but the composition is shifting underneath.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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