Californians who move out of state save $672 per month on housing

Saddled with high housing costs, many California residents are recently leaving the state in search of more affordable locations and greater financial security research reveals.

Los Angeles County experienced a population decline of 54,000 inhabitants from 2024 to 2025, as more people left than came in – and many of those who left say housing prices are partly to blame.

The average price for homes in California is currently $736,500, but prices in the state’s major metro areas are much higher: $1,096,500 in Los Angeles and $985,000 in San Francisco, according to Realtor.com® facts.

On the rental side, average monthly rents are $2,691 in the San Francisco metro and $2,760 in the Los Angeles metro, compared to a typical rent of $1,669 in the nation’s 50 largest cities.

The California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley found that people moving away from the Golden State are moving to neighborhoods where they save $672 each month on housing costs, including rent or mortgage, utilities, property taxes and insurance.

For renters, rent in their new neighborhood typically drops by about 30% (or about $631). Meanwhile, the median home price in destination cities averages nearly $398,000 lower, a 48% drop compared to the California communities they leave behind.

“The price tag on the California dream has gone up, and many families are leaving the state for more affordable places,” say study co-author Eva Whiteexecutive director of the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley. “The difference these moves make is huge. The neighborhoods they move to are half as expensive, and they are much more likely to own a home within a few years.”

Seven years after leaving California, former residents are about 48% more likely to own a home than comparable Californians who stayed in the state.

Wealth advisor Clint McCalla told Realtor.com in 2024 that he moved from California to Texas largely because of the cost of living.

“We rented a house in San Diego,” he said. “The cost of living was way too high to justify staying there. I didn’t feel like we could ever get ahead in California given the developments. Almost everything costs less in Austin. Housing is the biggest savings for our family. We were able to purchase a beautiful home in an excellent school district with great neighbors, sunset views and an extremely friendly deer population.”

The affordability of housing is under pressure

A new study of the Los Angeles Business Council Institute finds that housing affordability pressures remain widespread in Los Angeles, with 7 in 10 Angelenos reporting difficulty affording housing. That figure includes more than half of homeowners and 86% of renters. The report also notes that three-quarters of renters have considered leaving Los Angeles altogether.

“Despite billions of dollars in investments and new policies, housing challenges have only become more acute for Angelenos across the city, regardless of age, income or race,” says LABC president Mary Leslie in a statement shared with Realtor.com®.

A special one questionnaire of UCLA similarly underlines the tension, finding that Los Angeles County’s quality of life has fallen to its lowest level ever, amid rising housing costs, economic uncertainty and growing concerns about the future.

A Los Angeles insider discusses the exodus

Real estate agent Jameson Tyler Drewpresident of Anubis Properties in the LA area, tells Realtor.com that the contrast between Los Angeles and other parts of the country is especially apparent when he travels.

“When I travel to the Midwest, I am constantly reminded that the cost of living is not the same as in Los Angeles, and the pace of life is much slower,” says Drew. “The taxes on a modest suburban home in Los Angeles could be the down payment on a very nice home in Chicago or Indianapolis.”

Drew notes that broader economic shifts have also weighed on the region’s housing market. “It doesn’t help the real estate industry if the base of the L.A. economy has dried up or continued to grow,” he says, adding that many jobs related to filmmaking have long since left the area.

As costs continue to rise, he believes affordability has reached a breaking point for many residents.

“Is the state becoming unaffordable for most people? Unfortunately, yes,” says Drew. “The customers and family who left LA for greener pastures are, for the most part, thriving. Yes, they’re all saying the same thing: they miss In-N-Out and the weather. But it’s hard to see a future here when all you’re trying to do is raise a family.”

Drew also described a challenging employment landscape.

“As far as the job market in Los Angeles goes, it’s about as bleak as anywhere else in the country,” Drew says. “There are many job openings, but none where wages can afford a $4,000 a month mortgage. The entertainment industry has been dead for years, with most workers scattered in Atlanta or Toronto. Other industries across the area are feeling the effects of $5 to $6 gas and have stopped hiring.”

With wages lagging behind housing costs, Drew says many potential buyers are choosing to leave.

“With wages unable to catch up with rent increases and mortgage payments, countless top buyers are looking elsewhere for their future – and I don’t blame them,” he says. “I’m the last member of my high school friend group still living in LA; the rest have long ago dispersed to greener pastures. With the average home price hovering around $900,000 [in L.A. County]“The mortgage payments and tax burden are not even remotely sustainable for a family trying to build a life.”