Dr. Housing Bubble — The middle class migration out of California

People look at population growth in California and see nothing that stands out. Digging into the numbers you find some interesting figures. First, the main reason California is actually growing is because of international migration. California for well over a decade is losing domestic residents. That is, “domestic” Californians on a net basis are heading out of the state. On a more micro level, you are seeing the middle class either being phased out of the state or being pushed into lower priced inland regions. It is an interesting trend that is also happening in the tech hungry Bay Area. Housing continues to be an important topic because the vast majority of income is spent on housing. California has one of the highest percentage of families spending half or more of their monthly income on either rent or housing payments. In places like Los Angeles the main international migration is coming from Asia. You also see this driving up real estate values in certain areas and this contributes to domestic out migration. The migration numbers are interesting and shed light on this global trend.

Dr. Housing Bubble
The middle class migration out of California: While domestic migration is up, foreign migration is filling the gap.