California’s outmigration woes: No. 1 gap, No. 1 improvement

California last year had the nation’s biggest gap between people who arrived and folks who departed – despite also enjoying the biggest improvement in what demographers call “net migration” among the states.

My trusty spreadsheet’s review of new state-to-state migration data from the Census Bureau shows the net outflow of 268,052 was California’s fourth biggest since 2004. Last year’s No. 2 was New York, with outmigration at 179,709.

California rivals topped the positive slice of this people-movement scorecard. Texas had 133,372 more people coming in than going out, followed by Florida with a net inflow of 126,008.

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Too many people look at California’s sizable “net” outflow and immediately assume the state has problems keeping its residents. Do not forget, this demographic yardstick is the “net” result of two variables.

Just eyeball 2023’s math. Is the 690,127 Californians who exited too high? Or is the 422,075 Americans moved here too low?

If we can somehow sidestep the what-caused-this debate, a glimmer of hope for California can be found – the gap between departures and arrivals is shrinking.

The Golden State’s net outflow last year was 73,814 smaller than 2022. No state improved more. No. 2 was New York, with a 65,428 decline.

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And who’s at the other end of this migration metric’s spectrum?

Florida with a net inflow that was 123,056 smaller in the year, the largest reversal in the nation. No. 2 was Connecticut, 52,976 worse. Then came Texas, down 40,889.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com