'Doing Business in California Sucks' — Yet Another Company Flees Gavin Newsom's Golden State

We’ve published the long, long list of companies that have ditched California for friendlier climes — the business kind, not the weather.

Now we can throw another shrimp on the barbie as apparel and e-commerce company Digital Brands Group has packed its bags and relocated from Vernon, California, to Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin. Texas has been the biggest beneficiary of the Golden State exodus, while Florida, Colorado, Montana, New Jersey and other states have also seen corporations pouring in.

One point nine billion has already walked out the door of LA County alone:

California companies continue to head for the exits.

Digital Brand Group CEO Hil Davis is relocating the apparel and e-commerce company’s headquarters from California to Round Rock, Texas, citing the state’s high costs, employee commutes and increasingly difficult business… pic.twitter.com/1B3fb64eYC

— Just the News (@JustTheNews) August 17, 2026

California companies continue to head for the exits.

Digital Brand Group CEO Hil Davis is relocating the apparel and e-commerce company’s headquarters from California to Round Rock, Texas, citing the state’s high costs, employee commutes and increasingly difficult business environment.

“Doing business in the state of California sucks,” Davis told Fox News.

Los Angeles County also led the nation in taxpayer losses, with nearly $1.9 billion in income leaving the county as thousands of filers moved to other states.

Digital Brands’ CEO Hil Davis says he’s leasing 70,000 square feet of office space in the Lone Star State and expects to see his costs plummet.

Davis pointed to California’s high cost of living, long employee commutes and the rising cost of doing business, including defending against lawsuits.

"You start to add all those things up," he said. "It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make sense. It’s too hard."

The relocation comes as California wrestles with a much bigger question about whether the state’s costs, taxes and regulations are driving away the businesses and wealthy residents it relies on.

Actually, there is no "question" whether the state's progressive policies are forcing residents and companies out: the data is already in.

You may have seen similar lists before, but it’s jaw-dropping when you are reminded of the tally of jobs, tax dollars, and technological advancement heading for the state line:

We can now add Valero to the growing list of major companies fleeing California, taking well over $1.6 trillion of revenue with them. Great job Newsom!

• AECOM
• Align Technology, Inc.
• Amazing Magnets, LLC
• Amgen Inc.
• Anduril
• Anheuser-Busch
• Bed Bath &…

— BlackApple (@BlackApple) December 22, 2025

We can now add Valero to the growing list of major companies fleeing California, taking well over $1.6 trillion of revenue with them. Great job Newsom!

• AECOM

• Align Technology, Inc.

• Amazing Magnets, LLC

• Amgen Inc.

• Anduril

• Anheuser-Busch

• Bed Bath & Beyond

• Blaze Pizza

• CBRE Group, Inc.

• Charles Schwab Corp.

• Chevron

• Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

• Dropbox

• FICO

• First Foundation Inc.

• Forever 21

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

• HomeLight

• In-N-Out Burger

• Lucas Oil

• McAfee

• McKesson Corporation

• Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)

• Oracle

• Pabst Brewing Company

• Palantir Technologies

• Realtor dot com

• Ruiz Foods

• Sendoso

• Skillz

• Snowflake

• SpaceX

• Symantec

• Tesla

• Unical Aviation, Inc.

• Valero

• Viavi Solutions Inc.

• X (formerly Twitter)

• ZP Better Together Unical Aviation

Meanwhile, the so-called billionaire tax, a “one-time” five percent wealth penalty on California residents with a net worth over $1 billion, is on the ballot in November, which has already caused numerous wealthy titans (and their taxpayer dollars) to flee to other states. We can expect to see more of that if it passes.

Sure, we’ve seen many similar stories before, but it’s important to remind the world of the mess Newsom has made here each and every time it happens as he gears up for his all-but-inevitable presidential run. He wants to inflict his pain on the rest of the country as a whole, and if he’s given the chance, the damage he will do is incalculable.

We’ve already seen it happen here. 

Editor’s Note: Gavin Newsom wants to turn America into one big version of California - a failed, overtaxed, dystopian nightmare.

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