Population drops in San Diego County

San Diego Union Tribune:

Why are people leaving? San Diego County loses population for first time in a decade - The San Diego Union-Tribune

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2022-04-29/san-diego-migration-is-a-lack-of-housing-and-high-costs-pushing-people-to-move-elsewhere

“…the grass may be greener outside of California these days. U.S. Census Bureau data released last month showed San Diego County’s population fell by 11,183 residents from July 2020 to July 2021 — mirroring the wider trend of more people leaving California’s high-priced coastal urban centers.

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San Diego County’s net population loss was well under 1 percent — 0.3 percent to be exact — of its 3.28 million residents.

In comparison, Los Angeles County lost nearly 160,000 people, a 1.6 percent decline. San Francisco shed 55,800 people, or 6.3 percent. Santa Clara County, which encompasses Silicon Valley, lost 45,000 people, or 2.3 percent.

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“Riverside and San Bernardino are growing because people are fleeing LA,” said Dowell Myers, a professor of policy, planning and demography at the University of Southern California. “People are moving out of dense areas. They are moving outward to safer areas, and they’re moving to more affordable housing.”

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“I think part of that has to do with the pandemic and the ability to telecommute,” said Ray Major, chief economist at the San Diego Association of Governments. “But a lot of it has to do with the cost of living here. We have high state taxes. We have some of the highest housing costs. We have the highest electricity rates in the nation. We have the highest gasoline costs. Those types of things make people rethink where they want to live.”