SAN DIEGO – A record number of Los Angeles residents have made the move to San Diego, as well as out-of-state, according to a new Redfin study.
Droves of people migrated out of California during the pandemic, heading for more affordable locales. The places seeing the largest exodus were coastal cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Washington D.C. and more, according to Redfin.
So, which cities are Angelenos now flocking to the most? Las Vegas and San Diego, according to Redfin data.
As mortgage rates and home prices continue skyrocketing, nearly one-quarter of homebuyers nationwide looked to move to a different metro area, marking a record high, Redfin reported.
Relocation numbers were boosted by remote working flexibility, something over one-third of American job-holders has access to, making relocating for lower home prices even more popular.
In Las Vegas, the median home price is $425,019, as of November 2022, while average prices in Los Angeles were over double that amount at $954,270, according to Zillow.
Las Vegas offers a wealth of entertainment and dining options for big-city folk without the high cost of living, along with the lack of a state income tax.
San Diego’s median home price sits relatively close to Los Angeles at $950,415, although the city provides a different lifestyle, notably an escape from L.A.’s infamous traffic jams and fast-paced living.
Other top cities seeing a great influx of Angelenos include Phoenix, Arizona and Dallas, Texas, according to the study.
Those living in pricey San Francisco are choosing to move east to Sacramento, about 88 miles away from the city, said Redfin.
“The overall national trend remains the same: a steady uptick in the share of Redfin.com users looking to relocate over the last five years, with much of the increase occurring since the pandemic began,” says Redfin. “The most popular destinations are typically relatively affordable Sun Belt metros.”
The full Redfin study on homebuying relocation trends can be found here.
Top 10 metros homebuyers are leaving, according to Redfin:
Net outflow = Number of Redfin.com home searchers looking to leave a metro area, minus the number of searchers looking to move in
| Rank | Metro* | Net Outflow | Portion of Local Users Searching Elsewhere | Top Destination | Top Out-of-State Destination |
|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 37,800 | 24% | Sacramento, CA | Seattle, WA |
| 2 | Los Angeles, CA | 33,600 | 20% | San Diego, CA | Las Vegas, NV |
| 3 | New York, NY | 23,600 | 27% | Miami, FL | Miami, FL |
| 4 | Washington, DC | 18,900 | 18% | Salisbury, MD | Salisbury, MD |
| 5 | Boston, MA | 9,300 | 19% | Portland, ME | Portland, ME |
| 6 | Chicago, IL | 5,700 | 16% | Milwaukee, WI | Milwaukee, WI |
| 7 | Detroit, MI | 4,600 | 32% | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland, OH |
| 8 | Denver, CO | 3,700 | 31% | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | 3,500 | 17% | Phoenix, AZ | Phoenix, AZ |
| 10 | Minneapolis, MN | 2,200 | 29% | Chicago, IL | Chicago, IL |
FOX 5 San Diego’s Jafet Serrato contributed to this report.