“Go West, young man” is a well-known phrase often thought to have been put into print by John Steinbeck in one of his novels like “The Grapes of Wrath,” but which actually became famous due to an 1865 editorial by Horace Greeley, the editor of the New‑York Daily Tribune.
“Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country,” he wrote, and the phrase gained popularity because it perfectly described the restless American spirit and the boundless opportunity presented by the western half of the nation.
In particular, California became the dream for many because over the years its natural beauty became legendary, its wonderful climate drew those sick of long winters, and as the Golden State grew, it became home to the glamour of Hollywood, the excitement of the aerospace industry, and the get-rich-quick hopes of its abundant oil reserves.
Much of that is gone now, or at least in serious decline — and residents are noticing. The state experienced its first net population loss since its inception over 170 years ago in 2020, and although that decrease has now stopped, the thrill is clearly gone because population is still not going up; it’s basically flatlined.
The overall drop hasn’t slowed down the human tsunami of people ditching the massive County of Los Angeles, however:
Tens of thousands of residents are fleeing Los Angeles County, raising fresh questions about the region’s future as economic pressures mount.
The region recorded the largest population drop of any in the nation between July 2024 and July 2025, according to newly released estimates from the US Census Bureau.
The data, published March 26, shows roughly 54,000 residents left the county during that one-year period. The losses mark a continuation of a steady slide for the nation’s most populous county.
Los Angeles County sees largest population decline in the U.S.
The Gavin Newsom Effect continues. pic.twitter.com/38oUFMyX6O
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) March 30, 2026
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The disastrous 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires certainly are a factor in the county’s population drop, as a number of residents jumped ship after watching 16,000 structures burn and 28 people die, while the state, city, and county leaders were shown to be underprepared and incompetent. The slow pace of rebuilding has only furthered frustrations, and many wonder if those neighborhoods will ever come back.
I know plenty of people whose homes were lost, and some are telling me they will rebuild — but many more have fled to Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, and other hotspots.
There’s much more driving away Angelenos, however: crime, homelessness, affordability, and endless taxes. Meanwhile, the full impact of Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown doesn’t even appear yet in these numbers, and they’re almost certainly significantly higher now.
It’s not just people leaving that’s behind the problem; it’s also the fact that fewer people are arriving:
Once home to more than 10 million people in 2020, Los Angeles County’s population has now dipped to just under 9.7 million, KTLA reported.
While the raw number of departures is eye-catching, experts say the broader trend may be even more concerning: fewer people are coming in to replace those who leave.
Neighboring regions appear to be benefiting.
2025 Census data.
Los Angeles County lost 53,934 people in a single year.
8 of the top 15 gaining counties are in Texas. 4 of the top 15 losers are in California. pic.twitter.com/JuOEAgX2E1
— Charlie Smirkley (@charliesmirkley) March 26, 2026
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton notes that Newsom’s gerrymandering Prop. 50, which engineered a rare mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts much to the favor of the Democrats, was illegal because it failed to account for the well-known population shifts:
He argues [in a lawsuit] that Proposition 50 does not account for changes in the state’s population since the 2020 Census and constitutes an arbitrary and capricious state action violating the “one-person, one vote rule” under the Equal Protection Clause.
Unfortunately for voters, his suit was dismissed by a California court in November 2025.
Numerous pundits allege that Newsom was well aware of the population drain, and that’s why he was so maniacal about pushing the anti-Democratic Prop. 50. He wanted to protect at-risk Democrats:
“The passage of this new map – which is designed to protect a slew of vulnerable Democrats and will cost Republicans three to five seats in 2026 – is the most consequential development to date in the mid-decade redistricting wars due to the sheer number of seats that it impacts,” Erin Covey, with the Cook Political Report, said in a statement.
LA County was far from the only one to have been hit by the shifting tides:
All 58 [California] counties recorded declines in foreign immigration, and 30 counties lost population overall — a sharp increase from 18 counties the year prior.
Guess what, LA and Sacramento politicians? The trend is likely to continue as long as you continue busting the budget for illegal immigrants, taxing and regulating businesses out of existence, funding “clean energy” boondoggles, building projects to nowhere, and treating criminals better than you do law-abiding citizens.
Those residents who didn’t robotically fill in the ballot circles for anyone with a D by their name — and there are millions of us — are responding the only way they know how: by getting the hell out of Dodge.
Editor’s Note: Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, and the “progressives” are ruining California.
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