The embattled governor was keen to trumpet a Fortune Magazine story suggesting that 57 of America’s biggest firms now call the state home, overtaking Texas and New York and putting California at the top of the list for the first time in 10 years.
‘More than Texas. More than Florida. 57 incredible and booming companies, right here in the Golden State,’ he boasted.
But many were keen to point out that people have been heading in the other direction with 340,000 more leaving than arriving in 2022.
Los Angeles has 340,000 fewer people than it did in 2019, while San Francisco, San Diego and Santa Clara counties are each around 40,000 people short.
Florida meanwhile gained nearly 250,000, while Texas had 174,261.
California’s population is 1.2 percent less than it was in 2019 will not reach pre-pandemic numbers until around 2032 on current trends.
The ratio between the number of people who receive benefits to those whose taxes pay for them is worsening, too.