The West Coast is losing people for the first time in decades, with most of the exodus coming from big cities. Long sought as beacons of innovation and business opportunity, the cities have become too expensive to live in, with high city wages not being enough for many.
Instead, these Americans are seeking cheaper cities in the nation’s “sun belt”, such as Austin, San Antonia, Atlanta and the South more generally. Fortune looks at the problem:
Bank of America’s data reveals population growth across major metropolitan areas in the West is declining compared to the prior year, with Las Vegas being the exception. “The fall in population growth in the West is more of a Pacific story,” the bank said—with a chart showing declines in population growth across San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with the latter two cities leading the declines.
But why are people giving up on the West Coast, and maybe even their dreams of living in California? It’s simple: housing costs.
The political ramifications can already be seen with the growth of political representation in Southern states. This comes at the cost that many of these migrants are Democrat voters, threatening the GOP’s regional power base. Business Insider shows where the fleeing Californians have been going:
Between April 2020 and July 2023, the South’s population increased by 3.9 million people, Census Bureau data shows. Cities in Florida and Georgia, and Texas cities like Austin and San Antonio, among many others, have seen big spikes in population. This has been primarily driven by domestic migration, with a smaller boost from international migration.
Meanwhile, the West is seeing its share of the US population decline for the first time since the 1940s. The West has seen a decline in domestic migration but increases in international migration and natural change — births minus deaths — since the 2020 census.
Symbolically, the West has always symbolized America’s future and hope for better opportunities. The migration out is the result of depressed economic opportunities and the growth of a permanent underclass, slowly choking the American dream.
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