More Than 250,000 People Have Left San Francisco Bay Area Since Pandemic

Drivers on the U.S. 101 freeway in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 30, 2019. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The population in Northern California is on the decline, according to data released March 31 by the U.S. Census Bureau, with more than 250,000 people—approximately half the population of Wyoming—fleeing the San Francisco Bay Area since 2020.

Santa Clara County experienced the most migration, with about 80,000 choosing to leave, but more births than deaths in the county helped it essentially tie with San Franciso as the leaders in population declines, equating to approximately 65,000 each.