As home to both the tech mecca of Silicon Valley and the entertainment capital of Hollywood, California has had a fairly easy time keeping a stranglehold on major corporations.
But as rising taxes and other leftist policies cut deeper into their bottom lines, an increasing number of the nation’s largest companies are fleeing the Golden State for greener pastures.
And the trend has escalated to the point that California is no longer home to the largest number of Fortune 500 firms.
Fortune reported on the shift:
Everything’s bigger in Texas—including the companies. The Lone Star State is now home to the most Fortune 500 companies, dethroning California as the capital of the Fortune 500.
The state’s 57 Fortune 500 companies ranked roughly $2.8 trillion in renevue last year, compared to California’s 56 businesses and roughly $2.7 trillion revenue. New York comes in third with 53 companies and $2.2 trillion.
In recent years, Texas’ anti-regulation and low tax policies have attracted companies including Tesla, McKesson, and Oracle to move their home bases to the state. Still, Texas remains second to the Golden State when it comes to profits and market value.
The state has long been home to Fortune 500 staples such as Dell Technologies, Exxon, and AT&T, and the companies span across the state. Houston is home to 25 Fortune companies such as Chevron, Sysco, and Phillips 66. Dallas is home to 11 companies, including AT&T and CBRE Group. The capital, Austin, which has emerged as a major tech and finanicial hub is home to just two Fortune 500 companies: Tesla and Oracle.
Here’s some social media commentary on the California exodus:
Bruv really… This was obvious in the 90s when semi, software, gaming, fracking, and big finance all started blowing up in Texas at once and CA / NY started going full fukin retard with political correctness (that's what they used to call woke) , insane housing, etc pic.twitter.com/EaHIhoAtUp
— McLovin (@McLovin_Bish) June 9, 2026
It extends far beyond big corporations, as ordinary Californians realize that there’s a better, more affordable alternative:
They moved from California to Texas and tracked the difference in their monthly expenses.
From 2022 in California to 2026 in Texas:
Electric bill:
CA: $511
TX: $346Water bill:
CA: $448
TX: $140Gas bill:
CA: $175
TX: $239Car registration:
CA: $830
TX: $75Gas for their… pic.twitter.com/DQcFz17uRo
— Financial Dystopia (@financedystop) June 13, 2026
THE CALIFORNIA EXODUS.
There are billboards standing in Los Angeles right now, bought by a Miami real estate agent. Her pitch to wealthy Californians: "Your wealth is wanted."
She knows her market. LA County just led the entire nation in population loss. 54,000 people gone in a… pic.twitter.com/U4DpFatpSJ
— Commentary: Rush Limbaugh News (@ElRushboNews) June 13, 2026
The Hill covered the trend in a report earlier this year:
An estimated 7.1 million people moved to a different state between 2023 and 2024, Census data released this week shows. For comparison, an estimated 297 million Americans remained in their same residence year over year, while about 29.9 million moved somewhere new but within the same state.
Some states were more attractive to movers than others, the data shows.
Receiving the most movers from a different state in 2024 was Florida, which gained about 574,000 new residents. Only one other state, Texas, received more than half a million out-of-state residents, at roughly 556,000.
Later in the same article:
Some of the states that saw the largest influx of out-of-state movers also said farewell to the most residents.
The “California exodus” appeared to continue in 2024, with the Census data showing an estimated 661,000 people left for another state. The largest chunk of those leaving California, roughly 77,000, went to Texas, according to the data.
Here’s some additional commentary:
🚨 David Friedberg Says California is Seeing a Mass Exodus of Tech Leaders
“Probably a third of people I talked to have already left … and in a survey we did informally … close to 87% of people are going to leave. These are the core leaders in tech.” pic.twitter.com/iuocW51cpZ
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) April 11, 2026
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