Consumer Affairs Again Ranks California Worst State To Move To
Written by Chriss W. Street
California again won ConsumerAffairs 2024 review of all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., again found California was the Worst State To Move To.
The 2024 migration trends reveal consumers are continuing to leave some of America’s most populous states to move to the South. Census data demonstrated California experienced a 1.4% population decrease between 2020 and 2023. Meanwhile, Texas and Florida saw 4.7% and 5% population increases during the same period.
The ConsumerAffairs research team for over a decade has annually tracked the over 8 million annual movers that left one state for another state or Washington D.C., based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data.
Each of the states and Washington D.C. are then ranked across five equally weighted categories that are assigned up to 20 points for: affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety.
Each of the five categories are scored under the following metrics:
• “Affordability: The affordability score is based on three metrics: regional price parity (8 points), which measures price level differences; median household income (7); and median annual property taxes (5). We got this data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Tax Foundation.
• Economy: The economy score is based on four metrics: the share of the population living in poverty (5 points); population growth (5); unemployment rate (5); and home value, using the Zillow Home Value Index (5). We used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, ConsumerAffairs’ migration trends data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Zillow.
• Education and health: The education and health score is based on three metrics: the share of the population that is insured (5 points), the overall quality of care as rated in the 2023 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (8) and high school graduation rate (7). We got data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Wisevoter.
• Quality of life: The quality of life score is based on three metrics: the quality of roads (8 points), weather (7) and the percentage of people who use public transportation to commute (5). We analyzed data from ConsumerAffairs’ study on the worst roads in America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. For weather, we examined the annual average daily dose of ultraviolet irradiance.
• Safety: The safety score is based on three metrics: property crime rate (7 points), violent crime rate (8) and the ratio of law enforcement employees to population (5)” according to the FBI.
Utah for the first time in 2024 captured to the number one Best Place To Move To; while Californian retained its position as the bottom dweller as the Worst Place To Move To in America.