Californians Are Flocking To This Arizona City: Report

As concerns around inflation, high taxes and overall affordability continue to bedevil Californians, thousands have crossed the Golden State border to relocate to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., the Los Angeles Times reported.

Although the biggest destination for relocating Californians is Texas, Arizona's Maricopa County saw the largest influx of Californians who migrated there. That number? A staggering 36,000, according to U.S. Census data from 2023.

Lake Havasu City — home to the famed relocated London Bridge — had a population of 58,037 in 2023 and a median property value of $411,500. Between 2020 and 2024, Arizona’s population grew, while California’s remained stagnant.

Amber Whitehead told the Times that she lived in California until she was 47 before deciding to move to Lake Havasu City in 2024. But she worries the city will become overcrowded with Californians.

“I don’t want to talk it up too much, cause we don’t want a bunch of people moving in from California,” Whitehead told the newspaper.

Whitehead cited living expenses for a reason to move.

“The cost of living in California is just getting ridiculous, so we decided it was time to sell,” she told the newspaper.

Leading up to her decision to move, her fire insurance had doubled and she had discovered much lower property taxes in Lake Havasu City.

“It’s a sentiment that’s known wide in our area that so many people came from California,” Mayor Cal Sheehy told the newspaper, referencing the ‘Don’t California my Arizona’ meme. But after moving there, Californians quickly find: “We do it our way," he said.