Hawaii residents relocating to this state more than any other in US, data shows

People leaving Los Angeles are moving to Las Vegas in record numbers

Los Angeles ranked as the second major U.S. metro area people are leaving, according to data. San Francisco was first.

LOS ANGELES - Thousands of residents in Hawaii are saying aloha to the Islands and aloha to California instead.

That's according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, which for the seventh straight year showed Hawaii's population continues to steadily decline.

From July 2021 to July 2022, the state’s population dropped by 0.5% from 1.447 million to 1.440 million, data showed. Last year, Hawaii ranked fifth in the nation for the biggest decline by total population, behind West Virginia, Louisiana and Illinois, and New York.

Ex-residents said they were relocating from the Islands due to several reasons, including the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing.

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According to the report, more than 67,000 people left Hawaii between 2021 and 2022, while 56,200 moved to Hawaii from other states.

Diamond Head and Hotels Lining Waikiki Beach (Photo by Douglas Peebles/Corbis via Getty Images)

Of the Hawaii residents who left in 2022, more than 10,000 moved to California, data showed. That was the number one state people were relocating to. On the other end, more than 10,500 Californians moved to Hawaii.

Other top states Hawaii residents moved to were Washington, Texas, and. North Carolina.