California residents who leave the state are finding significantly lower housing costs and a clearer path to homeownership, according to a study from the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley.
Researchers tracked the same households anonymously from 2016 to 2025 and found that those who relocated out of California ended up in neighborhoods where monthly housing costs averaged $672 less. In California, these households had faced average costs of $2,376 per month; in their new communities, that figure dropped to $1,705. The analysis includes mortgage or rent payments, utilities, property taxes, and insurance.
Renters moving out of California saw their rents fall by roughly 30%, or about $631 per month. Homeowners found the median home priced approximately $396,000 lower—48% less than in the California neighborhoods they departed.
The result is a substantially higher homeownership rate in destination neighborhoods: 60% own their homes, compared with 53% in the California neighborhoods these residents left behind.
By contrast, those moving within California saw costs rise slightly, from an average of $2,263 to $2,277 per month. People moving to California faced a sharper jump, with average monthly housing costs increasing from $1,754 in their prior out-of-state community to $2,418 in their new California neighborhood.
Seven years after leaving California, residents were 48 percentage points more likely to own homes than before they lived in the state. Those who moved to California were only 27 percentage points more likely to be homeowners after seven years.
“The price tag has gone up on the California dream, and many families are leaving the state for more affordable places,” said Evan White, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley and a co-author of the study. “The difference these moves make is stark. Their destination neighborhoods are half as expensive, and they end up much more likely to own a home within just a few years.”
Where Departing Californians Are Going
Nevada received the largest net inflow of California residents, gaining 81 people per 10,000 annually on a net basis over the decade. Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona followed, with net inflows of 64, 37, and 36 per 10,000 respectively.
Other states popular with departing residents included Texas, which gained 11 per 10,000 annually, Tennessee at 13, and Florida with a more modest 4 per 10,000.