300,000 People Moved Out of California from 2021 to 2022, Most of Any State

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that 300,000 people left California in 2022, more than left any other state, amid a general slow increase in the U.S. population as the country recovered from COVID-19.

The estimates cover the period from July 2021 to July 2022.

It was the third consecutive annual decline for California, the Sacramento Bee noted, though births outnumbered deaths.

The U.S. population grew by about 1.3 million people, thanks largely to the arrival of over 1 million migrants:

After a historically low rate of change between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. resident population increased by 0.4%, or 1,256,003, to 333,287,557 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 national and state population estimates and components of change released today.

Net international migration — the number of people moving in and out of the country — added 1,010,923 people between 2021 and 2022 and was the primary driver of growth. This represents 168.8% growth over 2021 totals of 376,029 – an indication that migration patterns are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Positive natural change (births minus deaths) increased the population by 245,080.

Internally, the South grew the most, thanks to migration from other states, with Florida growing the fastest, followed by Texas and North Carolina. (California, New York, and Illinois lost the most residents.) The Northeast and Midwest lost residents, thanks to outward migration, and the West gained residents, largely through natural growth (births) — overcoming the drag of California’s net losses.

International migration had a nationwide effect: “All 50 states and the District of Columbia saw positive net international migration with California (125,715), Florida (125,629) and Texas (118,614) having the largest gains,” the Census reported.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.