Consumer Affairs: California is NOT One of The Best States to Move to in 2026
Why did California rank so low?
By Katy Grimes, July 8, 2026 11:46 am
According to ConsumerAffairs’ 2026 report on the Best and Worst States to move to, California ranks #48 out of 50 states, with an overall score of 38.06/100.
Well, California is up from #51 in 2024.
According to Consumer Affairs, the 10 worst states tend to perform poorly in safety, with each placing 34th or lower, except for Mississippi, which is 12th best. Additionally, the bottom states have seven of the 10 lowest scores for the quality of life, and eight of the 10 lowest for education and healthcare. And although California and Oregon rank higher in education and healthcare, their ongoing cost-of-living crises were evident in their affordability rankings, where they place 50th and 44th, respectively.
Here are the Worst States to Move to in 2026 according to Consumer Affairs:
- New Mexico (28.99)
- Louisiana (33.45)
- California (38.06)
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Arizona
The 10 best States to move to in 2026 consistently perform well across the metrics Consumer Reports studied, especially in safety and economic strength. The top-ranked states aren’t concentrated in one region. Instead, they’re spread across the U.S., giving movers a range of choices.
The Best states to move to in 2026:
- New Hampshire (#1 at 68.51)
- Utah
- Idaho
- Virginia
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- South Dakota
- Nebraska
- Vermont
- Wyoming
Why did California rank so low?
ConsumerAffairs evaluated states across five weighted categories: affordability, safety, crime, economic strength, healthcare & education, and quality of life. California struggled in key areas:
- Least affordable state — Housing costs take up 21% of median income compared to 17.6% nationally.
- Overall living costs are 10.7% above average.
- California also has some of the highest state taxes.
- Second-most dangerous — Higher-than-average violent and property crime rates at 4.9 per 1,000 residents. National averages: 3.6 and 17.6.
- Weak economic metrics, including higher unemployment and poverty indicators.
- Poor quality-of-life scores for many residents despite strengths elsewhere.
There were some positives for California:
- Strong healthcare & education – top 20 for healthcare access/quality/outcomes.
- Above-average bachelor’s degree attainment
- Abundant parks and outdoor amenities.
As the Globe has reported for many years, California has led in net domestic out-migration for years, with people leaving citing high cost of living, high crime, high cost of housing, highest taxes in the nation, and politics, and quality-of-life issues.
California’s safety metrics are mixed: while crime has improved sharply on paper, it is still elevated relative to national averages and top-ranked states.
Many residents weigh this against other factors like cost of living.
California continues to experience significant net domestic out-migration, while Texas sees strong net domestic in-migration, according to U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates, covering July 2024–July 2025, and related reports.
Net Domestic Migration: Americans Moving Between States
- California: Large net loss of 229,000 residents is one of the highest in the U.S. This continues a multi-year trend, with over 1.4 million net domestic losses from 2020–2024 in some estimates. Losses have slowed from peak pandemic levels – 471,000 in 2021 – but remain substantial.
- Texas: Net gain of 67,000 residents. It ranks among the top states for domestic inflows, and is often #2 behind North Carolina. Gains have slowed from pandemic highs, 219,000–222,000 in 2022, but stay positive.
Notably, many California out-migrants head to Texas, along with Arizona, Nevada, Florida, South Carolina. Texas benefits from this flow, with significant net gains from California.
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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It’s astonishing that Californians are incapable of voting themselves out their mess. Why? That’s a good question. Many are stupid and/or brainwashed. Public employee unions are so powerful they control politicians and therefore control every level of government. Big business and wealthy people are too afraid to push back, fearing retribution. Voters are incapable of comprehending cogent policy distinctions and are easily persuaded by ad hominem attacks. So and so is a “Fascist, Nazi, Hitler, racist, MAGA, etc.” Name calling is a lot easier than using critical thinking to address real problems.. However, the weather is nice.
California has the third lowest IQ of any state in the country. The people here just aren’t smart enough to realize their poor voting record has led to the demise of the state. They don’t vote logically. They vote emotionally.
Research indicates a strong positive correlation between a country’s average IQ and its level of freedom, particularly regarding economic freedom and political rights.
Economic Freedom: Studies utilizing the Economic Freedom of the World Index have found a statistically significant positive link between national IQ and economic liberty. Higher IQ scores correlate strongly with institutions that protect property rights, ensure rule of law, and limit government intervention. One analysis noted that IQ correlates with economic freedom indicators just as robustly as it does with GDP per capita.
Political Freedom & Democracy: Data suggests that nations with higher average IQs tend to score higher on metrics for civil liberties, political freedom, and democratic governance (such as Freedom House scores). Researchers like Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen have argued that higher cognitive ability enables populations to better organize, understand complex political systems, and defend their rights against authoritarianism.
The “Well-Being” Nexus: Recent updates to state and national data (e.g., Pesta, 2022) confirm that IQ is a central node in a network of well-being variables, strongly predicting lower crime, better health, higher income, and greater institutional stability—all components of a “free” society.
It stands to reason that democrat election-fraud is substantial and real.
I have a feeling that if you surveyed those 1.4 million who left California you’d find a significant portion of Republicans, independents & Libertarians…
My wife and I are considering bailing due to the expectation of massive taxes falling on us due to lost, stolen, misallocated, and generally frittered away tax money. The kids have already left for Texas, mostly.
When the rich flee, the middle class suffers.
We are considering relocating to Nevada from Sacramento after we retire which is #6 on Consumer Affairs worst states to move to. Nevada has no income tax and it has a Republican governor (for now) so it would be better than retiring in California.
However, we found that the median home prices in the Reno metro area are higher than the Sacramento metro area where we currently live. Recent data indicates Reno’s median home value ranges from $560,000 to $635,100, placing it in the top 10% of the most expensive U.S. housing markets. In contrast, Sacramento’s median home price is around $550,000 which makes it slightly more affordable than Reno despite both cities exceeding the national median of between $416,000–$429,400.