More California companies have already moved out of the state than in all of 2020
Tech companies like Slack, Square and Coinbase have announced their businesses will be remote-first. Others, like Pinterest, Salesforce and Yelp, are shedding office space. Now, according to a new report, more companies have already moved their headquarters outside of California so far in 2021 than in 2020.
If the pace keeps up, the number will double what it was last year, according to the report from Stanford’s Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank. So far, its data shows that 74 companies have already moved their headquarters to other states in 2021, surpassing the half-year average for 2019 and 2018. It’s also more than the number of companies that moved away in all of 2020.
Furthermore, these numbers are likely a vast undercount of how many businesses are leaving the state, the report’s authors say, as it’s not often reported when small businesses choose to leave California.
The report analyzed data from January 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021. “California is experiencing a serious loss of company headquarters to other states,” the paper reads. “The phenomena, which includes business in nearly all industries, has gone virtually unrecognized by the state’s elected officials and governmental agencies.”
Not surprisingly, the hottest destination for companies is Texas. Both Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Oracle announced they would abandon their Silicon Valley headquarters in favor of the lone star state in 2020.
Arizona and Nevada typically rank right behind Texas.
Just this month, property technology company HomeLight announced that it was moving its San Francisco headquarters to Scottsdale, Arizona, while financial services company Flexible Funding said it will move its headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas.
While businesses often attribute their California exit to regulations like high taxes and increasing utility costs, other reasons may sound similar to individuals leaving the state, such as cost of living and housing affordability.