California Exodus: U-Haul Data Reveals Major Outbound Migration Trends

California Leads Nation in Outbound Moves

• 🚚 A new report from U-Haul indicates that California had more outbound moves than any other state in 2025.
• 💰 Affordability is cited as a primary reason for residents leaving the state.

Top Destinations for Movers

• 🗺️ Neighboring states like Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon are popular destinations for those leaving California.
• 📈 Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina are also among the top states experiencing significant inbound one-way U-Haul traffic.
• 🏆 Texas has been the number one growth state for the past decade, according to U-Haul data.

States with Most Outbound Movers

• 📉 Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are among the states seeing the most movers leave.
• ⚠️ California is at the very bottom of the list for growth, indicating a substantial outflow of residents.

Political and Demographic Trends

• 🏛️ Speaker of the House Mike Johnson used California's outbound migration data to criticize its high income taxes.
• 🗣️ Governor Gavin Newsom responded by highlighting a survey ranking Louisiana, Johnson's home state, as worst for quality of life.
• 📊 California has experienced negative net domestic migration for over 20 years, though its overall population grew slightly last fiscal year due to international immigration and a slowdown in domestic out-migration.
• 🔵 U-Haul data suggests a trend of migration from blue states to red states, with seven of the top 10 growth states having Republican governors and nine having voted Republican in the last presidential election.