What’s Driving California’s Mass Exodus? 

The rent is insanity and the average middle class family can’t afford a mortgage for even a 1 story house. Saved you 19 minutes.

Leaving California is the most Californian thing right now.

I lived on Oakland for years. I bought a 10 Acer Ranch in Cotati for $185,000. It was so peaceful. Property values exploded. I didn't even have My Ranch on the Market and a Doctor offered Me 1.9 million. Sold it and moved to Texas 15 years ago. Best decision I ever made.

In this perilous time of recession, protecting your capital is much more important than making money. Basically because if you lose your capital, making money is much harder. ''Missing the train'' vs. ''losing your money''. There are a lot of trains, but if your money is gone, it's over. This is for stock holders.

Unreasonable cost of living, outrageous housing market, wildfire crises, homeless crisis, high taxes, high regulations.

Must be really bad if CNBC has noticed this.

Having been concerned about finances throughout my entire adulthood, it's captivating to observe this video and realize that I can confidently identify with level 6. Experiencing the freedom of not being preoccupied with the financial concerns that consumed me for numerous years is truly liberating. I suppose this is the result of putting in diligent effort for the future.

Seeing what’s happening to our cities makes me mad I didn’t take up politics. The laws and policies are destroying these cities. They keep raising every tax you can think of and have no idea where it goes….I’m in NYC and with the amount of taxes we pay it should NOT look the way it does….mismanagement and a whole bunch of crooks

This is why whenever I see someone online bragging that they make $100k a year, I look at where they live.

My dad told me his reasoning for leaving recently: “nice weather doesn’t pay the bills”... hit me hard

I admire the financial independence of people, But you can live better if you work a little more. After watching this I think there are people out there, on the extreme, who plan to die early just to be able to retire early. To each their own but to me, retirement isn't just about not having to work, it's about having the freedom to do whatever you might reasonably want, such as travel, buying things, enjoying life, etc. I don't think I could retire with less than $3m in income-generating investments, maybe $2m at the very minimum. I plan to work until I'm at least 45

My wife and I left San Diego, CA on 24 Jun 2020. It took me a while to convince my wife to leave San Diego due to her family living there. But I was never near enough to my family and with both my parents and my brother passing away, I needed to be closer to my sister in Florida. My other reasoning for wanting to leave CA was political, 2A, and cost of living. Since moving to a much better state, we own a bigger house (2660sq ft), pay less for our house payment, no state taxes, no property taxes and we are doing a lot better now. There are two family members in San Diego that stated they want to move out of CA also.

The sad part is after the middle class leaves the people that are gonna be left are the wealthy and the homeless in California.

The first "red flag", was people making $100k per year. Living in their cars, instead of an apartment or condo.

Very simple explanation: the costs, crime, and culture are awful and nobody is interested in paying for a negative experience.

ive lived in california all my life-50 years. seems crowded as hell to me, still.

Taxes Taxes Taxes and super high prices for low quality housing. SMH

It's simple. Citizens are leaving because of the cost of real estate. Companies are moving because they want to pay less taxes.

After living in this state for over 60 years, I can’t believe how bad things have gotten not only for small businesses but for the middle class and quality of life. Calif used to be a paradise, it has now become a nightmare. Outrageous gas prices, more and more regulation, highest tax rate anywhere, gridlocked roads, on and on. This is all a direct result of the far left liberal policies and they refuse to understand or even acknowledge that. We could go onto crime which is not being punished and letting 70,000 criminals out of the jails. What a total disaster.

I was born in California. And as much as I love the weather and such here. This exodus and all this bad stuff happening to California is a necessity. You can't stay forever at the peak, you have to fall to rockbottom to rebuild. Its just the natural cycle of everything.

California: "You don't like it? Leave!" Companies: "Ok"

Why the exodus? "The fact that you don't know is half the reason right there"

California is going to need to realize as much as they would like a lot of expensive programs in place, they can't go as far as they want with lots of other states available for businesses to just shift over to. It isn't a move to a new country, just a hop over a few state lines just hours away.

I am visiting California from Michigan in a couple of weeks, and the prices and cost of living in California is crazy!

God damn it, now they're gonna ruin Texas

Stagnant wages, outrageous rent and home prices, and overbearing taxes.

I remember when I was 12 and moved from New York to California. My dad had a business and New York was getting heavily taxed at the time. We moved to California to improve our lives and now CA is getting heavily taxed.

if you work in NYC the tax you get taken is around 33% in total. I say this from experience, my check was $1350 and I only got around $900 after taxes. I'm somebody that sooner or later will be leaving NYC.

Everyone is blaming the “State” yet its the residence of that state that voted for these policies

24 seconds in, and I am starting to feel sorry for Texas.

I would really live to see an update on this

I've lived in California for the past sixty six years and the traffic keeps getting worst!!!

When I left California 3 yrs ago, I was making 150k/yr, impossible to afford a home in a decent area. CA is super unfriendly to middle class.

The cost of living in California is ridiculous, I could never afford to buy a house out there that is why I left.

They just eliminated Fast Food restaurants in Cali with their $20@hr min wage. There just won't be any McDs, Arbys, KFC, Chick-fil-a...

Texas needs to tax these companies 50% for 20 years after moving here.

Ironically Californians are making the areas they’ve moved to, too expensive for the rest of us.

"what's causing this exodus?" Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 20 years, it's pretty obvious why people are leaving.

Excellent analysis and insight into a massive trend that is shaping the America of tomorrow. A must-watch for anyone.

Good the state will learn from its greed. Forget major businesses, you can't never raise an ordinary family in this one state alone.

1. The government. 2. The government. 3. The government. Honorable mention: The government.

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Remember this: those 20 or 30 workers in a 'mom and pop" business are the ones who each know at least 100 voters, can influence them, pay taxes, keep the economy going or not. My question: why do we keep working for monopolies that get tax breaks and keep us poor ?

Whatever it is, please don't stop leaving. It'll make the place liveable again.

I’ll save you 20 mins: they move because of taxes

The most shocking fact about this, the video was done by CNBC.

I’m in Florida. You may see a homeless person here and there, but hardly ever. There is one every few feet in California, San Fran, L.A, everywhere. So you tell me -what makes the difference?

Politicians are throwing their hands up wondering why the homeless population has exploded, and why crime is extremely high. It's unlivable for regular people. I watched a video titled 'Save LA' and it really put into perspective how bad things have gotten. BC in Canada is turning into the California of Canada. We already have a major homeless problem and a lot of people are leaving for other Provinces for more affordable living. BC already has a negative birth rate; it's only going to get worse.

all these damn taxes just to still have terrible roads and trash everywhere

As a Californian, I'll summarize it for you why people are leaving the state: - Highest tax rates in the nation - Short supply of housing which is causing rent and house prices to skyrocket - Not enough high paying jobs to go around

For me it was an emerging music industry in Atlanta, as well as, the motion picture industry filming in Georgia.

Because of bad government, bad politicians and bad policies. Cost of living, high taxes, high inflation, high homelessness, high crime. It didn’t just happen, it was created.

They never mentioned poop on the sidewalks

California: *shoots its own foot* California: "WhY dOeS It HuRt??!?!?"

The people living in tents surrounded by trash shooting heroin into their arms, catalytic converter stealing, break-ins, etc, might also have something to do with it.

One guy told me he left California because because he had small children and they would be going to school in couple of years. He realized that the schools were drug infested and he did not want his kids to get involved with that.

Honestly a high schooler could've told you all this as well. This bubble was going to pop sooner or later. Inflation in california is just insane.

We will be having this same conversation in 20 years asking why companies are leaving Texas and going to Alabama.

Crime, homelessness, cost of living and all the other bs!

The price of housing is ridiculous.

alternate headline: tech nerds conclude theyve ruined Bay Area, Off to ruin Austin next

Native Californian for 66 years... leaving due to wildfires, PG&E mandatory power shutdowns, politics, and insane cost of living. It was special once...

hope so, I did years ago. glad of it. lots better places out there

I left 12 days after the Northridge quake. Lived there for 12 years. A part of me shall always be there.

This video: California is dying Gavin Newsom: Nonsense! Also, we’re raising the state income tax to 16%...

House is 50% more expensive? More like 500% more expensive

I have a co-worker that moved to Mexico b/c she wanted to work remotely from there, however our company to save money was going to do an international pay adjustment since she moved to another country where wages are lower there. She moved back to the U.S. faster that a virgin boys first time.

We just moved back to CA last year in the pandemic. The Bay Area even. The simple laid back days of just “going west” are long over. People need a major plan and a whole lot of effort to move to and live in the desirable regions of CA. If you’ve been here for awhile but standing still, you’ve actually been moving backward. Pick where you love and work at it.

The taxes are too high and the money is spent poorly anyway! $15 an hour in California's cities gives people less purchasing power than in $8 an hour in most other states.

I can't believe they didn't touch on the homeless problem. I live in a small college town and there is a bum on every corner panhandling or yelling at clouds.

I used to live in San Francisco , CA the 220 foot drop from the Golden gate bridge to the ocean is a fact , 1,000 people every year go to the Golden gate bridge to commit suicide

I am a 3rd generation SF Bay area native lived 60 years between San Francisco and San Jose, my family goes back to 1890s San Francisco, I grew up in Mountain View up until the 1970s the bay area it was idyllic lots of farm land, open space between towns, one could go to the city on weekend nights and walk around without fear, or drive to Santa Cruz on Friday night and get there before Saturday morning, drive to the Sierras and back in one day, etc. I personally witnessed the slow but steady destruction of the state at the hands of the democrat party and their liberal policie - it got to the point where your only choice was between two democrats. Pelosi's city is now a cesspool I have seen people drop trowsers and deficate in the doorways of businesses or shoot up right in front of city hall. The taxes, crowding, crime, homeless, traffic make it unlivable. Mountain View preserved one acre of farm land (Cuesta Park) to remind people of what it used to look like - today I would not go there it is infested with drug dealers and worse. The home I grew up in was purchased in 1955 for $11,500 (cost corrected today $132,250) now goes for $2,600,000. What family can afford to put down $1,000,000 and service a $1,600,000 loan (plus property taxes) for $13,000 per month for 30 years for a 900 sq.ft. 3 bdrm 1.5 bath 1950s house? After 60 years my family had enough and moved to the rural part of a cold "red" state. I miss the state of California with its natural beauty but not what the politicians have done to it. My only regret is in not having left sooner.

The people are moving and voting for the EXACT same thing that made them leave California...

Surprised it took people this long. CA, NY and other areas just makes 0 sense to live or work at. Super expensive for decades.

All my family have left for Idaho, Texas and Missouri. All of them say it was the absolute best decision they ever made.

Increasing crime, soft on crime laws, increased housing costs, increased homelessness, ridiculous taxes, price gouging, inability to protect yourself, lack of law enforcement funding, ridiculous increase of drug addiction, soft on drug laws, destination for criminals and junkies, increased human trafficking, increased attack on constitutional rights.

I left CA to a state where I could rent a two bedroom apt for the same price I was paying for a floor space with 5 other people. I'll never go back.

Imagine pretending you don't know.

I love California. It has deserts, mountains and the ocean near by. It has great amusement parks like Disneyland, California Adventure, Knotts Berry Farm, Magic Mountain and Universal Studio to name a few and it has many professional teams like the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Lakers, The Los Angeles Dodgers just to name a few. You can go up north to wine country and see the cute town of Carmel or go to San Diego and see the cute town of Coronado Island. These are just a few things that you can do. There is also a lot of great restaurants and let's not forget about the beautiful weather in California. Also there are a lot of beautiful hotels here. Yes California has it all if you can afford it. But unfortunately it is too expensive for many people to live here. So I can understand why people would want to move.

I paid $18 thousand in2020 state taxes, then got a tax bill for $7,300. I'd had enough. Home based so moved back to my Vegas home. 2021 state tax bill: $0. From 1,940 sq ft at $4,100/mnth to 4,892 sq ft and gorgeous pool at $2,404/mnth. SO much better quality of life. Hotter? Not lately.

To summarize it’s the high costs and low quality of life.

Texas: The Next California. Tech companies will never learn.

Born and raised Bostonian, started my career in Boston then years in saw many of friends get married and start having kids. Same thing happened many started leaving for “better quality of life”, many found jobs for close to same salary but cost of living is significant lower so equates to a significant increase. Also, many wanted wife to stay home to raise kids.

I recommend considering that surbs and single homes are so expensive they push entire cities into debt. Affordable neighborhoods should contain mixed architecture, more apartment buildings or small, old style tenement houses.

"What's driving the mass exodus?" Easy. Burdensome building codes + overregulated zoning laws + equity firms consolidating rental properties and inflating rent prices = Nobody can afford to live in CA cities w/o roommates, a six figure salary, or a trust fund.

When I considered moving to California, I couldn't justify it financially. High taxes, insane home prices, gas prices are stupid... Couldn't do it.

I’m from Orange County in Southern California. This is awful because California has amazing vibes such as warm weather almost year-round, and fun theme parks such as Knott’s, Disney, and 6 flags magic mountain. But most people leaving California are from San Francisco, the Bay Area, and fisherman’s wharf. Almost all businesses in San Francisco are closed because for the lack of safety caused by homelessness, and the extreme high cost of living in San Francisco. Homelessness is much much worse in San Francisco than in Los Angeles because it is more expensive in San Francisco than in Los Angeles. Texas is the #1 destination for Californians relocating to because the cost of living in Texas is much lower than in California, and the job market in Texas is booming. But there are many cons of living in Texas, those cons are - higher crime rates than in California, tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme heat waves, and not many airports, and the lack of airports makes it difficult to travel. I would not want to live in Texas because it is more dangerous than in California, it is super hot every summer, and there are almost always tornadoes, hurricanes, and lower salaries and wages since the cost of living is lower.

Left Cali in 08', one of the best decisions ever. Quality of life is so much better than what we had. We can visit the San Fran Bay area anytime, just glad I don't live there and didn't raise my kids there.

High salary/income is meaningless when the cost of living if higher and standard of living is less

Meanwhile a ton of Texans go to school in Arkansas because Texas is too expensive...🤦🏾‍♂️ The cycle continues

Jim Morrison was right when he sang: Save our city. Save our city. Right now

Just saw a chart of California economy and it is a steady line going up with no change in its upward trajectory despite these companies leaving.

Forget taxes! There’s no water!

I’ve seen this in Sim City. Pretty soon a big monster is gonna come in and knock down half the buildings and then you’re screwed.

There is NOTHING TO MISS about Calif.

Yep. I moved my business out of Cali a while back. While stagnating in Cali it is now triple what it was....

That stat was jaw-dropping. "50% of all homeless people in the US live in California"

Is this mass exodus going to teach us a lesson, or is this more like a cancer metastasizing?

Everyone from the company I worked for, moved out of California when they retired. Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Texas...

13:00 is basically "If we're not careful, we'll have to cook our own food, mop our own floors, and raise our own kids, because there won't be anyone to do it for us." Waahhhhh!