According to a survey by ConsumerAffairs, California ranks as the No. 1 state people are moving from, ahead of New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

The report revealed California saw roughly 17,000 people move out of the state, while only just over 7,000 people moved in, making it the leading state in outbound migration. In comparison, New York, which is second on the list, experienced significantly fewer moves.

The ConsumerAffairs team analyzed data from over 143,000 users from January 2023 to March 2024, indicating North Carolina saw the largest increase in movers.

The states with the most significant inbound migration numbers were primarily located in the Southern U.S., with South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Texas seeing notable increases.

“I’d say if you’re optimizing for kombucha consumed per hour a day, go to LA,” Michael Basch, the founder and general partner at Oklahoma-based Atento Capital, told ConsumerAffairs. “I think if you want to start a family, if you want quality of life, if you want a nice community or if you want to make a difference, those are all things I think we win over those markets.”

The study reviewed migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau and noted that the trends do not directly correlate with population growth or decline in the states.