Is California gaining or losing people?

Losing. In 2022–23, 200,547 more people left California for other states than moved in.

See where they went ↓
Moved in
389,700
people
Moved out
590,247
people
Net change
−200,547 people
In households (tax returns): 252,863 in, 353,260 out, −100,397 net

Where are people moving to California from?

People, 2022–23

  1. Texas41,232
  2. Washington27,750
  3. Arizona26,082
  4. Nevada25,024
  5. New York24,798
  6. Florida21,724

Where are people from California moving?

People, 2022–23

  1. Texas82,481
  2. Arizona47,885
  3. Nevada43,801
  4. Washington38,093
  5. Florida34,248
  6. New York25,783
Every state, in full ↓

Where people leaving California went across states

Orange lines show departures · thicker line = more people

Biggest net gain: New Jersey (+1,989 people). Biggest net loss: Texas (−41,249).

Is this new?

California has lost households from moves in every year since 2013–14.

Net migration · households (tax returns)
13–1414–1515–1616–1717–1818–1919–2020–2121–22−100,39722–23†††
Net migration of California (Net migration · households (tax returns))
YearValue
2013–14−13,849
2014–15 †−9,771
2015–16−25,913
2016–17 †−65,014
2017–18−61,428
2018–19−71,547
2019–20−117,475
2020–21−158,220
2021–22−144,203
2022–23 †−100,397

The IRS changed its processing in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23. Compare years between the dotted lines.

Who's moving, by income?

Arriving households$95.5k avg
Leaving households$102.1k avg

Average adjusted gross income reported on the second-year tax return. It may have been earned before the move or in more than one location.

Not counted above

Moved within California
798,517 people
Arrived from abroad
17,144 people
Left for abroad
25,794 people

Net change only counts moves between states.

Which California counties are gaining?

San Benito County: +208 peopleShasta County: +220 peopleSierra County: −16 peopleFresno County: −3,973 peopleAmador County: +231 peopleEl Dorado County: +206 peopleMonterey County: −4,502 peopleSan Bernardino County: −3,385 peopleTehama County: −102 peopleNevada County: +25 peopleTuolumne County: −93 peopleSanta Barbara County: −3,491 peopleTrinity County: +23 peopleStanislaus County: −1,093 peopleColusa County: −101 peopleAlpine County: −51 peopleSiskiyou County: −444 peopleDel Norte County: +20 peopleInyo County: +63 peopleSan Joaquin County: +2,171 peopleImperial County: −988 peopleCalaveras County: +97 peopleButte County: +722 peopleMadera County: +930 peopleVentura County: −3,842 peopleOrange County: −21,741 peopleKern County: −1,440 peopleContra Costa County: −5,010 peopleKings County: −471 peopleMendocino County: −395 peopleSonoma County: −33 peopleYuba County: +833 peopleMerced County: −683 peopleTulare County: −978 peopleSacramento County: −5,546 peopleSolano County: +123 peopleSan Francisco County: −6,507 peopleMariposa County: +48 peopleMarin County: −1,201 peopleSutter County: −964 peopleLassen County: −222 peopleRiverside County: +7,465 peoplePlumas County: −181 peopleSanta Clara County: −20,338 peoplePlacer County: +5,700 peopleSan Luis Obispo County: +170 peopleSan Mateo County: −6,243 peopleMono County: −181 peopleSan Diego County: −18,725 peopleNapa County: −634 peopleAlameda County: −17,406 peopleYolo County: −1,658 peopleLake County: +52 peopleLos Angeles County: −84,542 peopleGlenn County: −105 peopleSanta Cruz County: −1,922 peopleHumboldt County: −746 peopleModoc County: −63 people

Net people, 2022–23, including moves within the state.

  1. ≤ −5k
  2. −5k to −1k
  3. −1k to −100
  4. −100 to +100
  5. +100 to +1k
  6. +1k to +5k
  7. ≥ +5k
Withheld

Growing most

  1. Riverside County+7,465
  2. Placer County+5,700
  3. San Joaquin County+2,171
  4. Madera County+930
  5. Yuba County+833
  6. Butte County+722

Losing most

  1. Los Angeles County−84,542
  2. Orange County−21,741
  3. Santa Clara County−20,338
  4. San Diego County−18,725
  5. Alameda County−17,406
  6. San Francisco County−6,507

Every state, in full

Moves between California and each state, 2022–23. Tap a column to sort.

Net trendhouseholds, 13–14 → 22–23, † breaks
Texas41,232 in82,481 out−41,249$95.5k$107.3k
Washington27,750 in38,093 out−10,343$116.2k$111.5k
Arizona26,082 in47,885 out−21,803$75.2k$87.6k
Nevada25,024 in43,801 out−18,777$79.4k$102.6k
New York24,798 in25,783 out−985$153.9k$137.5k
Florida21,724 in34,248 out−12,524$94.1k$130.4k
Oregon15,353 in25,392 out−10,039$83.3k$87.8k
Illinois14,931 in13,617 out+1,314$108.6k$104.3k
Colorado14,394 in21,800 out−7,406$90.4k$102.7k
Virginia13,940 in17,124 out−3,184$92.4k$94.4k

Small charts: net households, 13–14 → 22–23, outlined bars = † years.

All counties in California

Counties and county equivalents, including historical geographies.

Cite this page

Moved Where. “Is California gaining or losing people?” movedwhere.com/state/california. Data: IRS Statistics of Income migration data, 2022–23.

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Common questions

How many people moved to California in 2022–23?

389,700 people moved to California from other states, and 590,247 left for other states.

Where do most people moving to California come from?

In 2022–23, the most came from Texas (41,232 people), Washington (27,750 people), Arizona (26,082 people).

Where does this data come from?

From the IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data. State migration is counted when matched tax returns filed in 2022 and 2023 show addresses in different states. A household is one tax return; people counts everyone on it. Non-filers and unmatched returns are excluded. Domestic net migration is not total population change.

Why are there no “vs last year” changes?

The IRS changed how it processed this data in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23, so a change from one year to the next can reflect the method rather than real moves. We show levels, rankings and 10-year trends instead.