Migration + Wealth Flow Explorer

State · Census age data

California: where Boomers and older adults are moving

Adults born 1964 or earlier who lived in a different state one year earlier, from the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. These are survey estimates of people, shown with their margins of error.

The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey estimates that about 41,800 adults born 1964 or earlier moved to California from another state in the prior year, while about 89,000 moved away. That is a net loss of about 47,100 Boomers and older adults (margin of error plus or minus 8,300), the largest net loss of any state.

The largest single source of Boomers and older adults arriving in California was Oregon, at about 4,500 people (plus or minus 1,800), followed by Texas and Washington.

Moved in from other states

41,825

people · margin of error ±4,695

Moved out to other states

88,958

people · margin of error ±6,515

Net change

-47,133

people · margin of error ±8,283

-5 per 1,000 Boomers and older adults living here

States sending Boomers and older adults to California

Shaded by estimated people arriving from each state. Hover a state for the estimate and its margin of error.

Top origin states

StatePeople (estimate)Margin of errorConfidence
Oregon4,457±1,834Good
Texas4,271±1,419Good
Washington3,736±1,374Good
Arizona2,773±943Good
Illinois2,756±1,112Good
Nevada2,645±1,191Good
Florida2,639±886Good
Maryland1,603±890Good
Colorado1,397±564Good
New Jersey1,397±802Good
Utah1,266±668Good
New York1,091±569Good
Idaho1,054±752Small sample
Georgia1,044±633Small sample
Missouri859±608Small sample

Showing the 15 largest of 43 states with movers in the survey sample. Smaller flows rest on only a handful of survey responses.

Why this does not match the IRS view

The All households view counts tax-filing households of every age from 2022 to 2023 IRS records. This view counts individual people in one age group from a 2024 Census survey. They measure different things in different years, so the two sets of numbers are shown side by side and never added together. Census age data stops at the state level, so there is no county detail here. More in the guide.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Estimates and 90% margins of error calculated by Home Grown Property Group from the person file and its replicate weights. Counts people ages 18 and over living in the 50 states or D.C. who lived in a different state or D.C. one year earlier; moves from abroad and Puerto Rico are not included. This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.