Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox has told people to “stay in California” after his state has suffered a massive influx of Californians in recent years.
Over the last ten years, Utah has experienced a large rise in people moving to the state after fleeing the oppressive laws and taxes of Democrat-controlled California.
“This last census confirmed that Utah was the fastest-growing state over the past 10 years,” Cox said.
“Our biggest problems are more growth-related.
“We would love for people to stay in California instead of coming as refugees to Utah.”
Cox added that his state “is not working to attract more people.”
He said Utah is having problems with not enough housing and water shortages due to a historic drought in the western states.
“We would love for people to stay in California instead of coming as refugees to Utah.”
— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox @GovCox at White House 2/10/2023 pic.twitter.com/FQzouYlS0G
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 14, 2023
According to the U.S. Census, Utah grew from 2,763,885 people in 2010 to 3,271,616 in 2020.
That is an increase of 18.3% which is the highest in the nation.
California makes up the largest influx of people to Utah from across the country.
In 2018, 18,000 people came to Utah from California.
50,000 Californians also went to other states like Arizona or Washington.
According to The Los Angeles Times:
“A majority of the state’s residents are affected by the West’s historic drought, and all of the state’s 29 counties have disaster designations by the United States Department of Agricultural, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“And while Utah experienced a record home-building year in 2021, it still is short about 31,000 units, according to recent estimates.
“In October, Dejan Eskic, a senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, estimated that the median monthly payment for a home in Utah was as high as $2,600, pricing out about ¾ of the state’s residents.”
Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said Friday that Californians should “stay in California,” in part because his state is beset by problems including housing and water shortages. https://t.co/bivfCjaEIJ
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 14, 2023
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