Gen Z is fleeing California for a surprising Southern state

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They’re Choosin’ Texas.

Gen Z Californians are moving to Texas in droves, a new report shows 58,109 Gen Z adults left California in 2024 — the most of any state, including 19,287 who relocated to Texas, according to a new report from LendingTree based on the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Around 10.7 million Gen Z Americans, 23.9% of that age group, moved to a different state in 2024. Texas was the seventh-most popular state for Gen Z movers in 2024. South Carolina took the top spot, while New York ranked #9.

California did not make the top 10 most popular states for Gen Z movers in 2024. The report also revealed that Gen Z is much more likely to relocate to another state than Millennials, Gen X, or Boomers.

Californian’s exodus to Texas isn’t new. In 2023, over 100,000 Californian residents left the state for Texas, more than double the rate of Texans moving to California.

A separate study from this year also suggested that Texas is a hot spot for Gen Z. According to MovingPlace 5,081 Zoomers moved to the Lone Star Star while 3,555 moved out.

The Austin, Houston, and Dallas metro areas received the largest amount of new Gen Z residents.

California’s high cost of living is making it harder for residents to stay, new data reveals. In a poll released last week by Embold Research for Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Bay Area News Group, 46% of the 1,801 adults surveyed said they’re feeling forced to leave California’s Bay Area due to high housing costs— up from 3% from last year.

“What they’re concerned about is our inability to solve our basic problem, which is housing — housing and the high cost of living here,” Russell Hancock, president and CEO of regional think-tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley, told the news group. “That’s what’s driving people out.”

The Golden State has has the nation’s second-highest rate of housing-driven poverty, according to new data.

California’s sky-high home and rent prices account for 34% of overall poverty and 42% of childhood poverty in the state.

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