A recent study is demonstrating the way young people view different states as potential places to live, especially when they are doing well financially.
The study by Smart Asset looked into where people under 35 years of age with a minimum adjusted gross income of $100,000 are moving. The group looked at how many people have moved in and out of states between the years of 2019 and 2020.
In California, the migration of these wealthy young working people had previously been steady. In 2018, there was a net outflow of around 400 such persons, while in 2019, the net inflow was about 20 wealthy young people. However, for the 2020 numbers, that all changed. The Golden State experienced a net outflow of 7,960 wealthy young people, which was the second largest net outflow in any state in America, as well as Washington, D.C.
Between 2019 and 2020, in California, 20,568 wealthy young people moved into the state and 28,528 people in the same group moved out.
New York was the state where the most young people are moving away, with a net outflow of 15,788. When considering proportional migration, Washington, D.C. had the most wealthy young people leaving, with a net outflow number of nearly 2,100.
The survey noted that Texas and Florida are the top two spots where young people who are doing well financially are heading to live, pointing out that Texas and Florida do not have income taxes.
California has increasingly become a difficult place to live, as COVID lockdowns harmed businesses, young people, and school children. In major cities, crime and homelessness have been rampant problems, creating living situations that are not amenable to young people or families.
While wealthy young people have been moving away in recent years, the amount of homeless people in the state has gone up by a minimum of 22,500 since 2019 — reaching 173,800, according to CalMatters.
The price of gas in the Golden State also hit record numbers across the state this week, with Los Angeles experiencing an average of $6.49 per gallon for regular gasoline, a number that has never been seen before. In other areas, the average gallon of gas was over $8.00.
“Gov. Newsom took direct action to bring Californians relief, transitioning to winter-blend fuel early and holding the oil companies accountable for surging gas prices despite low crude oil costs and record profits,” Newsom spokesman Alex Stack told USA Today in an email on Wednesday. “While this is welcome relief, we’re still focused on getting answers for this unprecedented price spike.”
Analysts recently said the prices might be dropping soon, but Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom has said he might bring state legislators back for a special session to react to the spike in prices of gas, but he points to oil companies as the issue.