SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Families are leaving California because they cannot afford to stay.

New data from the University of California, California Policy Lab, finds that Californians who leave the state pay less for housing and are more likely to own a home. On average, movers relocate to places where housing costs are $672 less per month.

That’s not the California Dream. That’s the California Nightmare.

And it’s not just low-income families leaving. More Californians are exiting from higher-income communities because they’re still struggling to keep up with rising costs.

If this trend continues, the consequences will be severe. California is on track to lose 3–4 congressional seats in the next decade. The state’s tax base will shrink.

Fewer workers. Fewer families. Less opportunity.

And it didn’t happen by accident.

Governor Newsom and Sacramento Democrats passed the policies driving these costs, higher taxes, higher energy prices, and more barriers to building housing.

The bottom line: People aren’t leaving because they want to; they’re leaving because they can’t afford to stay.