It’s Not Just Billionaires Leaving California

I just wrote about some of the billionaires fleeing California to avoid the proposed “one time” wealth tax which would take 5% of everything they own. But the LA Times points out it’s not just the very wealthy who are fleeing the state. Once again, California topped a list put together by U-Haul showing the most out-migration.

U-Haul’s survey of the more than 2.5 million one-way trips using its vehicles in the U.S. last year showed that the gap between the number of people leaving and the number arriving was higher in California than in any other state.

While the Golden State also attracts a large number of newcomers, it has had the biggest net outflow for six years in a row.

Generally, the defectors don’t go far. The top five destinations for the diaspora using U-Haul’s trucks, trailers and boxes last year were Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Texas.

Six years in a row. That’s not a fluke, it’s a trend. California comes in 50th out of 50 states. The good news for California, if you can call it that, is that fewer people were fleeing than last year.

While California’s exodus of do-it-yourself movers was greater than any other state, it saw a smaller net loss in 2025 than in 2024.

The other lowest rank states (meaning the most people leaving) are also big, blue states. It’s almost like there’s a clear pattern here.

The states with the lowest growth were the usual suspects. California came in last. Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and New Jersey rounded out the bottom five. Of the bottom 10, seven voted blue in the last election…

The rankings are a reminder that decline is a choice, and that policies which drive up the cost of living, empower union bosses at the expense of workers and otherwise make it harder for entrepreneurs to thrive wind up leading to dire consequences, including less money to support generous welfare states.

And at the other end of the spectrum, the states with the most in-migration also seem to have something in common.

Texas and Florida lead the list of in-migration states on the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing one-way customer transactions during 2025…

Texas reclaims the title of No. 1 U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in 10 years. It climbs one spot from its previous ranking behind South Carolina, which slides four spots after being the leading growth state for 2024.

Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee follow Texas as prime destinations. It’s the same top five from 2024 and 2023, although in a different order.

The top 10 also includes Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama and Georgia…

Blue-to-red state migration, a hotly debated political topic that became more pronounced after the pandemic of 2020, continues to be a discernable trend.

Seven of the top 10 growth states currently feature Republican governors, and nine of those states went red in the last presidential election.

People like sunshine and warm weather, that’s a clear trend in the data. But that really ought to be helping California be near the top of this list instead of dead last. People are moving out of California despite having great weather in a lot of areas. Another way to put it, if not for California’s great weather, even more people would be fleeing.

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