Democrats have long been advertising California as the 'engine' of the American economy, fed by investments in Silicon Valley and industrial booms that lead the nation.
But although California is the equivalent of the fifth largest economy in the world, recent employment data shows that its large cities are deteriorating.
Residents have often praised the job economy of California, but figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics have shown that a large part of the State's job base is subsidized by the government.
From January 2023 to January 2025, California won more than 180,000 jobs from the government directly and indirectly.
In the same time span, however, the state lost more than 173,000 jobs in the private sector, the data found.
Six of the top 10 subways for population decrease in America in 2024 were also found in California, including Los Angeles who lost 13,900 jobs, lost San Francisco 10,500, and Anaheim lost 10,400, per globest.
Part of the decline is fed by a large number of people who choose to leave California in recent years in favor of states such as Florida and Texas.
Residents have left the high taxes of California, rising costs of living and declining quality of life, with the pandemic often cited as one of the turning points in the decline of California.
New job data has undermined the long -term claim of Democrats that California is the 'engine' of the American economy after the entire state has left the state in recent years
Democrats such as Governor of California Gavin Newsom have often praised California as the model for blue states, but it has seen a decrease in recent years after the pandemic
The great migration of Americans in recent years has led the population of Florida to cross the 23 million inhabitant marking for the first time last year.
California is still at 39.5 million people, but experts say that Texas will overtake the number one place with 42 million inhabitants by 2045.
In 2023, the state population of California increased by 0.17%, which marked the first year of growth because it was struck with a massive exodus that started in 2019.
The recent job figures showed how everyday Americans have fled in large numbers California, because nearly 180,000 jobs in the private sector have left the state since January 2023.
This number was only compensated by 181,000 jobs in the government, but according to the Center Square these were largely part -time.
This included 38 percent of these new 'government jobs' that were of older or disabled persons who used government funds to pay for minimum wage part time care and assistance roles.
The outlet added that the average working hours in the state has fallen, which suggests that employers lower hours to lower labor costs – after stepping from the democratic leadership of California to impose a higher minimum wage.
In 2023 the state population of California increased by 0.17%, which marked the first year of growth because it was struck with a massive exodus that started in 2019
Aaron Pankratz, an economic instructor at the Fresno City College, told KMPH that the population and jobs are being seen in recent years, can largely be explained by the culture of the state.
“At the moment it costs 1.5 times as much to live in California as in the rest of the United States,” he said.
“First and foremost, the very liberal politics was probably in Sacramento,” Pankratz continued. “Some people love it, enough people are tired of leaving the state.
'And for companies, you have an extremely expensive business environment, we have a high legal costs for companies, high business tax, it takes a long time to get projects approved if they are approved.
“And so companies find it so much cheaper and faster to start projects in other states, discovering people that it is so much cheaper to live in other states.”
While the cities in California such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have been plagued by unbridled homelessness and vagrancy in recent years, residents in states such as Texas say that they are not so charged with the issue.
Huge numbers of former Californians say they have left the state in recent years to escape high taxes, unbridled homelessness and the poor quality of life on the west coast
A study by Business Insider showed that those who moved from California to Texas said they did this for housing, jobs and climate.
One of those who made the move, Jackie Burse, said she was moving from California to San Antonio because she felt overwhelmed by the liberal agenda of the local population.
“I am a conservative and I have the feeling that it is difficult to have other opinions in California than Liberal,” Burse told Insider.
“Especially if you live in the cities.”
Burse said she is religious and feels more pleasant to be open about her faith in Texas than in California.
'For now I have no plans to leave Texas soon. I have found a great church, made many friends and feel safe here. '
Another person to make the switch, Janelle Crossan, said that she and her son moved from Costa Mesa, California to New Braunfels, Texas, one of the fastest growing cities in the US in 2020.
In Costa Mesa she paid $ 1,750 for a 'worthless' apartment in an unsafe area.
'I have never felt safe in my area. I felt like a prisoner in my apartment, “she said.
She has not only found a higher paid job, she now pays $ 1,800 a month for a house with three bedrooms that she has bought-including real estate tax.
“Something simple as moving the country has let my life go in such a different direction,” she said.
