Half a Million Californians Leave State in 2020.

More than 500,000 people have left California since the COVID-19 pandemic began due to high housing prices, natural disasters, and high crime rates in cities like San Francisco. The exodus was also spurred by the tech industry's shift to remote work, leaving office spaces empty. The ongoing housing affordability crisis is a key factor in the exodus, with some areas of the state seeing population growth in inland counties with lower housing costs.