Las Vegas and Reno are still two of the most popular travel destinations for San Francisco residents who have decided to leave their city.
According to a report by moveBuddha, a relocation tech company, Las Vegas and Reno ranked second and third, respectively, as travel destinations of choice in 2022, behind Austin, Texas. Miami and Orlando, Florida completed the top five.
The report, written by Joe Robinson, pointed out that the main reasons for relocating Californians from the Bay Area to Nevada are largely related to geography and financial incentives.
“Las Vegas and Reno offer local variations on the same theme,” Robinson said in the report. “By fleeing to the border, Californians were able to cut taxes, get rid of high housing costs, and do business more cheaply. They could also return to Giants games more often.”
According to Google Maps, it takes about nine hours and 15 minutes to drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas, or a one hour and 25 minute flight. Nevada is one of eight states in the United States that have no income tax, while California is consistently rated as the country with the highest tax burden for residents of all income brackets in the country.
The report found that for every 63 people who moved to San Francisco last year, 100 left the Bay Area. According to a survey by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, respondents cited crime as the top reason for their decision to leave the area. The report also listed several other factors causing people to leave the company, including a change in workplace environments largely driven by the pandemic.
“Perhaps remote work is to blame,” Robinson said in the report, “as it allowed workers to leave their unaffordable homes, worries of crime and horrendous taxes.” When the pandemic began, workers weren’t tied to their expensive homes they went in search of open space, spacious rooms and a cheaper cost of living.”
In Las Vegas, a large portion of California residents have moved to the city, relocated temporarily, or bought a home here to avoid higher costs in their home state. However, recent data shows that this exodus may be slowing, and the Las Vegas real estate investor boom has also cooled off significantly.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com or 702-348-3967.
