They’re California dreamin’ — of somewhere else to live.
The nation’s exemplar of liberal governance continued to shed residents at a dizzying pace in 2022, with 817,000 Golden Staters moving to other states — including 150,000 to red regions like Texas and Florida, according to Census figures released last week.
With 475,000 people moving in, the state suffered a net loss of roughly 342,000 residents — and has seen an overall decrease of 2.3 million people since 2012, the numbers show.
Compared to a decade ago, California’s 2022 departures were up by a staggering 44%, according to the agency’s Community Survey data.
Those losses are accelerating. In 2012, the state saw a net loss of only 74,000 residents compared to last year’s outbound stampede — a hike of 364%.
The top choice for the tanned but tormented was by far and away Texas, which took in more than 100,000 new neighbors from the coastal state for the second consecutive year.
Conservative groups in California, which is the most populus state with some 39 million people, have seized on the trend in attempting to rally support in their deep blue precincts.
“Sick of socialist policies ruining out beautiful California?” reads the website for the Los Angeles County GOP. “Don’t move! We need you here to stop Gov. Newsom and his Democrat socialists. Time to register and vote Republican. Join us in the fight to take back our Golden State.”
Critics have slammed liberal policies for fanning lawlessness and disorder, while Newsom has vigorously defended his state as a bastion of progressive ideals and action.
The Lone Star State, meanwhile, added 174,000 residents last year and greeted roughly one million new Texans over the past decade.
While California has lost residents each of the past 10 years and beyond, Texas has increased its numbers annually over that stretch.
The number of Golden Staters flocking to Florida set a new high in 2022, with 50,000 trading the Pacific for the Atlantic compared to just 20,000 in 2012 — a spike of 150%.
While most Californians moved to neighboring states like Nevada and Arizona, a growing number are looking turning south to places like South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
In 2012, a total of 51,000 Californians relocated to those five states. Last year, that number doubled to around 102,000.
Florida, meanwhile, added the most new residents from other states in 2022 with 738,000 newcomers — the highest number in at least a decade.
With 489,000 people leaving, the state saw a net population increase of 244,000 — the steepest hike in the nation last year.
As expected, New Yorkers formed the largest bloc of inbound transfers with more than 91,000 people moving south.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has touted his state’s ascent during his presidential campaign, often taking aim at Democrat run states including California and New York in driving his point home.
