SEATTLE, WA – Californians are trading wildfires and income tax for rain and $154,000 tech salaries, according to a new report.
StorageCafe’s report found that approximately 140 Californians move to Washington state every day. In 2023 alone, 51,000 people moved to Washington, and 23,000 moved to King County specifically, which is where Seattle and Redmond – major U.S. tech hubs – are located.
Experts are citing economic opportunities in Washington as the main driver. Susan Curran, director of the University of Washington’ Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, expects the migration of Californians to Washington will continue at the current pace due to climate issues in California, which “will make portions of the state increasingly unlivable.”
Why Washington? Curran says it has to do with taxes.
“The primary conditions associated with Washington attracting Californians is: no state income tax, job growth, relatively cheaper housing market (but not by much) and quality of life conditions,” Curran said in the StorageCafe report.
Nearly 6,000 Los Angeles County residents made the move to King County in 2023, despite the fact that the average home in King County costs 4% more than in Los Angeles. Similarly, those relocating from San Diego to King County would pay about 2% more for a home in Washington.
However, new renters spend 29% of their income on rent compared to 40% in Los Angeles.
The Seattle metropolitan area can be appealing to Californians due to the city’s presence as a tech hub. Seattle has more than 162,000 people working within the tech sector, which is over double San Diego’s 58,000 tech workers.
Workers can also make more up north. According to the report, tech workers earn more in the Seattle metro area, with an average of $154,000 per year, compared to $125,000 in Los Angeles and $129,000 in San Diego.
With the flood of new residents, Curran notes that there are impacts to the region associated with this migration trend.
“Housing supply is challenged by migration, but the job market is not,” Curran said.
