California used to be considered the crown jewel of the United States. It had beauty, character, and represented opportunity. There are so many songs about California I can’t name them all. It was a place where you went to fulfill your dreams and be somebody.

Now people can’t get away from it fast enough.

California has become a shadow’s shadow of its former self. Today it’s overregulated, crime-infested, and so filled with homeless people that you’re more likely to run into a used needle and a pile of human excrement than a sensible place to live, at least anywhere near its major cities.

It’s sad, really. A state so full of life and promise has been reduced to what it is thanks to overwhelming control by Democrat lawmakers who’ve had little in terms of competition for a long, long time. Corruption can be found from the top down and despite their best efforts, California’s Republicans can only do so much against the overwhelming amount of Democrat power.

As RedState has reported at various times, the amount of people fleeing California has been pretty amazing to look at, and we’re not just talking about regular working citizens. Big-name celebrities, CEOs, and even entire corporations have been relocating to the greener pastures of red states like Texas. Democrat activists have even seized on this as a way to try to turn Texas blue.

(READ: The Effort to Turn Texas Blue Is Proof the Left Is Either Stupid, Evil, or Both)

But interstate migration isn’t a new thing. Lots of people leave states all the time. What makes California such a weird case is that while everyone is fleeing, the amount of people moving there to replace them is surprising to researchers. We already know it was bad due to California losing an entire House seat from population loss, but researchers found its a far larger number than originally predicted:

“I guess I was a little bit surprised to see that entrances had fallen so much. It wasn’t so much that we saw it in a particular area. For me, the surprise was that this was a statewide phenomenon,” co-author of the study from California Police Lab, Evan White, told KCRA.

The study found a 38% decrease in people moving to California at the end of September 2021 compared to the end of March 2020. The study found a 12% increase in residents moving out of state.

White noted that while the spiked exodus from the state is notable, the drop in people moving to the state is “the bigger story.”

He said the biggest changes were in the San Francisco Bay Area. There was a 45% decrease in entrances from other states to the Bay Area and a 12% increase in residents leaving for other states.

Sacramento County, home to the state’s capital, saw a 33% decrease of people moving in and a 13% increase in people leaving for other states.

This isn’t good for any state. Less population means fewer taxpayers, fewer businesses, fewer goods and services, fewer workers…pretty much fewer everything except state debt.

The writing is on the wall. They aren’t moving to California in droves, they’re moving to Texas or Florida which are two of the reddest red states in America. They’re moving to a better-run state that has a lower cost of living, far less crime, and more opportunity.

This is only a thing because it has largely rejected the kind of mentality and ideology that sent California spiraling into the dirt.

California got woke and now it’s going broke.