If you have been quietly thinking about leaving California, you are not alone. The Orange County Register recently ranked the 49 other states on economic and demographic data to show which ones make the most sense as a next home.
Your move has two halves: selling here and buying there. I can handle the first. For the second, we do something most agents don't.
The top 5 states on the 2026 list
New Hampshire took the top spot, followed by Idaho, Utah, Minnesota and Nebraska.
Texas and Tennessee
The two states we hear about most from people here are Texas and Tennessee, and both sit in the middle of this ranking. Texas came in at 28. Tennessee, where most of the calls are really about Nashville, came in at 30.
That doesn't make either one a bad move. A statewide grade averages Dallas with towns you would never consider, and it says nothing about the neighborhood you'd actually live in. Nevada at 43 and Arizona at 39 land in the same spot, and Nevada is where more Californians go than almost anywhere.
Where Californians actually went
Rankings are opinions. The Census Bureau asks millions of households every year where they lived twelve months ago, and that survey shows what people actually did. In its most recent figures, 661,200 people left California for another state and 406,900 moved in, a net loss of about 254,300.
Texas took the most by a wide margin at 77,200, then Nevada at 53,300 and Arizona at 52,400, close enough to each other to call a tie. Those three absorbed more than a quarter of everyone who left. Washington and Florida came next. Tennessee, the state people ask me about most after Texas, was not in that top group.
Worth knowing: the outflow is slowing. About 690,000 left the year before, and roughly 818,000 the year before that.
Some people move back
We've had clients sell here, move out of state, and come back. It usually isn't a job or a family situation that brings them back. They moved for the idea of a place, what they'd read about it and what it cost compared to here, and the day-to-day didn't match it.
That's the gap no ranking closes. It's also the reason we do the homework up front. Knowing the specific town, the specific neighborhood, and having an agent on the ground who will tell you the unglamorous version is what keeps a move from turning into a round trip.
Orange County
Between 2024 and 2025, Orange County had about 25,400 more people leave for other U.S. counties than arrive from them, and the county ended up roughly 8,500 people smaller overall, even with people arriving from abroad. If you're weighing a move, you are not the only one on your street thinking about it.
A ranking is a starting point. What decides how the move goes is the town, the neighborhood, and the person who helps you buy there.
How the big home-search sites pick your agent
When you tap the contact button on a listing on Zillow or Realtor.com, you aren't choosing an agent. The site is.
ZILLOW
Agents in Zillow's invite-only program pay Zillow a referral fee after closing. Zillow says it routes buyers using performance and ZIP code preferences.
Agents can pay for exclusive or shared leads by ZIP code, usually on a monthly contract.
Plenty of those agents are very good. But the match is based on who is in the program, not on who is the best fit for you, your budget and the neighborhoods you care about.
How We Find Your Agent
Through our Agent Concierge service, we research the strongest agents in the city you're moving to, whether that's Nashville, Austin, Boise or a town nobody ranks, call and interview them ourselves, and give you a written shortlist to choose from. We make the introduction and stay involved through the handoff. There is no cost to you.
The bar is simple: we only send you an agent we would use ourselves, or hand to our own family. If they don't clear that bar, they don't make the list.
6 questions to ask any agent
Whether you use our service or find someone on your own, these questions separate an agent who knows the area from one who just answered first.
Selling Your Home Here First
One of my listings on Shorebreaker Drive, in The Breakers.
If your move starts with selling a home in coastal South Orange County, I'd like to be your listing agent. As a REALTOR® with more than 25 years of experience, I represent buyers and sellers across South Orange County.
While I sell your home here, the agent we vetted helps you buy there, and we keep both timelines talking to each other.
Common questions
How do I sell here and buy in another state at the same time?
Two common paths. One is a concurrent closing, where the proceeds from your California sale fund the purchase on the other end. The other is a rent-back, where you stay in your home for an agreed number of days after closing while you finish the purchase. Which one fits depends on your lender and both contracts, so we work it out with them before anything is signed.
How do agent referrals work?
There is no cost to you. Referral arrangements are handled between the two brokerages, and they come out of the agent's side of the transaction, not yours.
Is Agent Concierge really free?
Yes. There is no cost to you.
Do I lose my Proposition 19 property tax basis if I leave California?
Proposition 19 lets eligible homeowners carry their base year value to a replacement home anywhere in California. It does not follow you across a state line. Worth pricing out with your CPA before you decide, because a lower cost of living in another state can be offset by a property tax bill that resets.
Do you only help people moving to the top-ranked states?
No. We find and vet agents in any state or city, and outside the U.S. too.
Do I have to sell my home with you to use it?
No. The service is open to you, your friends and your family, buying or selling, anywhere.
Where can I read the full state ranking?
The complete list of all 49 states was published by The Orange County Register: Leaving California? Here are best states to move to in 2026.
Thinking about leaving California?
Tell me where you're headed. I'll talk through selling here, and we'll start the homework on your agent there.
Live Coastal. Invest Smart.
Adam Nelson | First Team Real Estate | DRE# 01308220
(949) 866-0245 | adamnelsonhomes.com
Sources: The Orange County Register, "Leaving California? Here are best states to move to in 2026" (SCNG analysis of economic and demographic data). U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey state-to-state migration flows, released Jan. 21, 2026, and the Census Bureau Population Estimates Program for Orange County, both via USAFacts. Zillow Preferred FAQ, zillow.com. Realtor.com lead pricing via Clever Real Estate, updated Sept. 2025.
