Cities in California are experiencing an exodus of college-educated residents, as degree holders shun the Golden State in favor of more cost-efficient regions.
Research published by HireAHelper has highlighted a pattern in degree-holding Americans exiting the state, as it found that four of the six top metros graduates were most likely to leave were in California. The state saw a 23 percent decrease in those residents in 2023.
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The study cited housing, living costs and job prospects as three of the key underlying factors behind the trend.
Miranda Marquit, consumer advocate for HireAHelper told Newsweek: "Recently, big tech layoffs have been in the news, so California might not be as attractive to job-seekers."
Whilst California seems to be losing its graduates, Florida, Nevada, Wisconsin and Washington State were among the top destinations for college-educated Americans.
South Carolina and Nevada where the second and third most popular states with the demographic.
The map below shows the most and least popular states with college-educated Americans, based on net gains and losses.
"Florida has a lower cost of living and the cities where college-educated millennials and Gen Z-ers are moving have good job prospects."
"Nevada's labor force reached an all-time high at the end of 2023. Wisconsin projects that it will add more than 80,000 jobs to its economy through 2025, with the biggest gains in computer and mathematical occupations," said Marquit.
"Add to the fact that these areas have a lower cost of living than places like California and New York, and they seem more attractive. You can get paid reasonably well and your dollar goes further."
Oxnard, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Francisco were the Californian cities with the most significant net losses. These were -51 percent, -48 percent, -32 percent and -25 percent respectively.
According to Redfin, the average rent in Florida currently sits at $1,917 for apartments and $2,400 for housing rentals. Zillow puts the average house price at $392,306.
In California on the other hand, the average rent for apartments is $2,481, and housing rentals are $3,533.
HireAHelper's research drew on 2023 U.S. Census data, seeking to track the so-called "brain drain" effect across the country.
"Brain drain" was defined in a 2019 congressional report as the phenomenon whereby "someone in the top third of the national education distribution [resides] in a state other than her birth state between the ages of 31 and 40."
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Joe Edwards is a Live News Reporter in Newsweek's London bureau.
