2025 Exodus Out of California Continues….
The recent announcement by the Chevron Corporation that it would relocate its corporate headquarters from San Ramon, California, to Houston, Texas, follows a number of high-profile businesses and residents leaving the Golden State.
The Playboy company, founded by Hugh Hefner, who hosted world-famous parties at his California mansion, were a part of the global image of sun, sex, and stardom. This past August, the Playboy corporation announced it would leave Los Angeles for the sunny, sexy city of Miami, Florida.
In-N-Out Burger, born in the Baldwin Park area of Los Angeles, recently announced their move to the State of Tennessee. Lynsi Snyder, President of In-N-Out, and granddaughter of founders Harry and Esther Snyder, cited the challenges of raising a family and conducting business in the State of California. McDonald’s used to be a California corporation too, now they are based in Chicago, Illinois.
John Paul Mitchell announced in June that he is taking his beauty company to Wilmer, Texas. They join Realtor.com, who also announced they would move from Santa Clara to Austin, Texas.
That’s just 2025. In the past few years, some of the brightest companies born in California have also left the state. That includes Elon Musk’s brands Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, moved their headquarters out of California in 2020.
The reasons for leaving the state: Over-taxation. Over-regulation. High cost of doing business. Homelessness, Public Safety, Public Schools, Political and Social Issues. According to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California, 3% of all businesses relocated out of the State of California in 2025. Nearly 30% of residents contemplating a move cite a misalignment between state laws and their political views as a factor. In some 2025 surveys, residents were split on whether they felt “safe” in the state, with only 9% saying they felt “very” safe.
The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank focusing on state and national tax policies, ranks California 49th in its Business Tax Climate Index, far below Tennessee, Florida, Texas, and other states that are attracting California businesses.
Research from authoritative institutions like the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), the California Department of Finance, and academic centers confirms that social. There was a net emigration of over 200,000 persons in 2024-2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This year, the State of California will have an expected deficit of between 50-70 billion dollars. In 2021-2022, California has a budget surplus of over 97 billion dollars. The shift from surplus to deficit, according to Reform California and Tax Foundation, is largely attributed to the state’s heavy reliance on income taxes from wealthy earners and capital gains. But California’s policies are chasing away the job-creators, and when the job-creators pay the taxes, and when they leave, many of their employees follow.
And now in 2026, the “Billionaire Tax” that will force every person who is considered a “billionaire” to hand the government 5% of their wealth. The bill, backed by labor unions, is apt to scare the job-creators out of the State of California for greener pastures.
The California dream has always been about new beginnings, a chance to be reborn. But the promise has become too pricey for many young people. For others, the California dream is about the opportunity to be discovered, but today you can do that from anywhere with a social media account.
But we still have Santa Monica Blvd, Stars on Hollywood Blvd, Surfboards and Sunshine all year round. California Cannabis is in demand all over the world. Leave it to the weed to save us.
Good. We don’t need them. We do not need Musk with his DOGE, his companies, or Twitter. They’re going to conservative red states that bend their knees to Trump. Timothy Snyder, on a Rachel Maddow town hall, said that what the federal government takes away, the states can create on their own. Let the state of California create its own establishments. In-N-Out, although a great place for a burger, was too spread out and not easily accessible. Chevron, a company that destroys the environment, does not belong in California. If it weren’t for unions, the public would be damned. I… Read more »
I moved from West Hollywood and my peace of mind and pocket book have never been better.
They are trying to make California, especially West Hollywood, like Venezuela, hence why people are leaving. I see Chelsea Byers is condemning the ouster of a brutal socialist dictator today on Instagram. Not a good look.
There is little upside when huge companies pay no taxes and fleece the states residents of safety net dollars by not paying their employees a living wage. These greedy ass companies, many who were given huge tax breaks to come to California are now turning their backs on us, the ones who did pay the taxes so that they could build their wealth. They used our state to recruit a new workforce, capitalized from our immigrant population for cheap labor. Enjoyed our roads, ports and proximity to other greedy companies to become so successful that they will now leave and… Read more »
Is that you Mamdani? LOL
Corporate socialism is more acceptable to you, Ham?
The one-sided view of censorship. Straight outta the playbook of Gobbles.
People keep pretending and voting for the Democratic Party they grew up with. It’s GONE, been GONE for almost 30 years when they stabbed citizens in the back and embraced illegal aliens as a strategy to steal HOUSE SEATS. They are run by Far Left Socialists now. Every city and state run by Far Left Democrats is collapsing, heading in the direction of old Detroit. Hundreds of billions in tax revenue from high earners have LEFT. Thousands more are leaving…and just watch how it collapses when Billionaires LEAVE. Palm Beach here I come.
Enjoy your Democrat Socialist hellhole.
It would be a nice change -for a change- to have the state run by Far Left Socialists. Hellhole?
Collapse?
Your hyperbole is very amusing, but your prejudice against foreigners is not.
BTW, I agree with your assessment of the Dems, but Republicanism, or heaven-forbid MAGA/Trumpism is not the answer.
California is a rich nimby state,maybe since everyone voted against housing the homeless in hotels,now the rich nimby’s want everyone to leave California.
Given that the State’s economy is highly reliant upon a flourishing tourist industry, housing the homeless in any but the most decrepit hotels makes no sense. Economics, like gravity, cannot be wished away.
They say that residents voted against housing the homeless in hotels,because it would scare the tourists away,yet tourists report of being scared to visit hollywood and alike.Primarily due to safety concerns,cleanliness,surrounding environment and the crazed homeless (rapping in the streets,so California doesn’t really care about the economics of tourism,and it cannot be wished away,they need to deal with it,rather than running from the problem,but that won’t happen until Prop 79 kicks in.
Well said
How about enforcing the GD laws. Homeless DO NOT have a special right to be allowed to be vagrants when there are programs to help them. Many of these people DO NOT want to be rescued or there are mental health issues. We need enforcement like forced rehab, mental healthy assistance. Otherwise, move on. I am NOT entitled to live somewhere I cannot afford. That’s called reality around the world not just here.
The state is in sad shape. One-Party rule doesn’t work. Only terrible ideas get implemented over and over again. $20 Billion budget surplus right now.
The most beautiful state……has been run into the ground.
100% TRUTH! Believe it! THE “DEMON” and his beloved (C)RATS” wreck EVERYTHING with their ISH Demonic Aura! IT’S “THEM” BOO-BOO, IT’S…. ALWAYS…. BEEN…THEM! They even took “it’s” name! What name you might ask? Demo’N’rat / Demo’C’rat! (same exact thing!) Those 2 swapped letters, the N and C, stand for ‘N’ever ‘C’hrist. A very SMART person said that! How many don’t even know what they follow, but more telling is, how many Do, but don’t care!? They just follow in lockstep behind their chosen One, the Demon! What happened to the Human Race?
Agreed
😂😂🤡
When I was growing up in the midwest everybody knew California had the best schools. Imagine my disappointment when i moved here after college and after two years each in NYC and in Michigan, I began teaching in the LA public school system. It was a zoo! Over the years my efforts in starting businesses and finding that my biggest hurdle was both city and state regulations that didn’t exist in the other two states in which I had done the same thing successfully. When an older friend who lost her house in the Palisades nearly a year ago saw… Read more »
Then move back to Michigan or wherever
How can you deny the truth?
You are not alone! Perfectly said!
California once had the #1 public schools systems in the nation. Democrats destroyed that. It is now ranked in the high 40s. Thanks to Democrat pushed Third World illegal aliens while Democrat politicians send their kids to safe, private schools.
Yep, it’s so sad what the ultra progressive, far left, one party state domination has done to this once great state. People need to stop voting for the same progressive left politicians or expect things to get worse. MUCH worse.
💯% correct, & BTW, doesn’t always mean to vote hands-down ideologically always for one’s political affiliation. Sometimes, just sometimes, the better candidate needs to be elected in order to adjust and modify from previous sides of the spectrum of complex issues. That is a key reason as to why we are now better-off with DA Nathan Hochman today than the Gascon of yesterday. Few can fault Hochman on his stewardship thus far.
The World is heading for another “reset”, to clean out the crud hoomans! Not the first time, and certainly due for one!
Spot on!
…. and yet California is STILL the 4th largest economy in the WORLD. Ebb and flow has always happened. People are STILL flocking here, hence the demand for more housing to be built constantly. We will be fine.
So you think the state is in a good place? You think these policies that have been enacted over the years have done us well? People need to wake up. Snap out of it. When the big corporations leave so do the tax dollars. That means only one thing, they’re gonna start taxing the people even more! We already pay some of highest sales tax, the highest gas tax, property tax- that’s a lot of ebb and not a lot of flow.
Perfectly said! Future doesn’t look good for this demoncrat state!
NOT one Far Left Democrat Socialist State is solvent or safe.
That’s the thing. People are moving out of the state. No domestic influx. People are moving in from out of the country. Which may be bad when a high percentage of them require government assistance. 12 billion just for medical for them last year. We are already in a deficit? Who’s going to pay? The people moving out? 4th largest economy but billions in debt? What does that tell you?
Our taxes will continue to rise, living costs will continue to rise, jobs will likely be fewer, health insurance costs are now obscene, people will need to become more fiscally aware than EVER before.
‘Ebb & flow’ has NEVER seen the extremes of today’s world, the people need ‘fair & balanced’, they are leaving as a result of imbalance.
“The sky is falling, the sky is falling” —-save me the dramatics Chicken Little
The majority of people moving in are from other countries, not other states… “Most people moving to California come from other countries, primarily Mexico, the Philippines, China, India, and Vietnam, with a large influx from Latin America and Asia, but significant numbers also arrive from other U.S. states.”
As they say in real estate: “Location, Location, Location”. California is geography blessed being the western gateway to the United States with rich agriculture, incredible sights and recreational opportunities that support international tourism, respected Universities who attract students from all over the world and provide cutting edge research and a diverse and creative population. Our standing in as the 4th largest economy in the world may not be based on great governance but rather an accident of geography. But as you say, people love living here and that will always be a source of economic vitality.
HAHAHA! And BROKE! And feeding off the highest taxes in the nation, with the WORST public schools, massive illegal alien population, largest illegal alien gang population in the nation.
California has the largest debt load in the nation..FYI, it has fallen to 5th and just wait till MORE of Big Tech packs up, and it’s coming. Yeah, they are flocking here…tens of millions of ILLEGAL ALIENS.
Enjoy your FAKE “largest economy” BS.
I remember when it was the 7th largest economy.
Things are getting worse, but the moving up to 4th place means the rest of the country and the rest of the world are suffering with even worse times that we all inn CA are.
As for the “Flight to the State of Florida” they should buy a round trip ticket. FL residents are finding it now almost impossible to buy homeowners insurance at any price.
Climate change has really hit FL hard already & only going to get worse.
Shouldn’t this be marked as an editorial?
Its filled with facts. All the reasons stated for leaving California were statements by the CEO, or company in their announcement. The last line about still having Cannabis may sound like an opinion, but California weed can’t move to Texas or Tennessee. And the line was inspired by a spokesperson from Emerald Village, – WeHo’s Cannabis Marketing firm.
An opinion piece or editorial can rely entirely on accurate facts while still promoting a particular viewpoint, which this does.
Most editorials use facts to support their position.
California has also seen a second consecutive year of population growth following pandemic declines.
Again, not from other states. We are seeing population growth with more immigrating from other countries.
So you featured a “story” that you sourced from one person or press release? That’s not journalism, that’s cutting and pasting. The comments here are enough to show. There are two sides to every story. There’s nothing wrong with an editorial about the Exodus of California, as long as you present the entire story. Otherwise, it still seems like an editorial.
The idea to write about this topic is on my own, and did research to support the points. Suprised it was worth your time to write in ‘seems like an editorial’.