People Who Leave CA Save $672 Per Month On Housing

A typical person moving out of California saves nearly $700 per month on housing, according to a recent study from the University of California, Berkeley.

The university’s California Policy Lab found the average mover leaving the state relocates to a neighborhood where monthly housing costs are $672 less than in the community they left.

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Rents are about $631 — or 30 percent — lower, and the median home costs nearly $396,000 — or 48 percent — less, according to the study.

Incomes in movers' new neighborhoods were also about $339 — or 8 percent — lower per month on average, but, as the study noted, “that income difference is far outweighed by the lower costs of living.”

READ MORE: Californians Who Move Away Are Finding The Grass Really Is Greener, New UC Study Finds

Californians who left for more affordable communities in other states were also 48 percent more likely to own a home after seven years, the study found.

“The difference these moves make is stark,” Evan White, executive director of the California Policy Lab, said in a statement. “Their destination neighborhoods are half as expensive and they end up much more likely to own a home within just a few years.”

Although many people think most Californians are choosing Texas as their new home, it’s actually Nevada that takes the top spot, the study found. Idaho, Oregon and Arizona were the next three highest recipients of Californians.

“Our report shows that people who leave California are increasingly leaving from higher-income neighborhoods,” Fischer said. “These movers are, on average, in a weaker financial position than their neighbors, and may be moving to attain the quality of life they see their neighbors enjoying but they cannot afford.”

Those who have left, on average, have a lower credit score and more student debt, according to the study.

The study was conducted using anonymized credit bureau data spanning the last decade, according to the California Policy Lab.