A desert city on the Arizona-California border is experiencing a dramatic population shift, becoming a primary destination for residents fleeing the Golden State's soaring expenses and liberal politics. Lake Havasu City, situated directly across the Colorado River from California, has transformed from a spring break hotspot into a permanent haven for thousands of former Californians.
The Great California Exodus
New data reveals the scale of this migration. In 2023 alone, 5,358 people moved from California to Lake Havasu City, according to the Los Angeles Times. The area now boasts the highest ratio of Californians to Arizonans in the entire state, with roughly two former Californians for every one Arizonan calling the city home.
Amber Whitehead typifies this trend. She decided to sell her home in Tuolumne County after the cost of living in California became, in her words, "just getting ridiculous." After a year of splitting time between both states, she and her boyfriend made the permanent move in 2024. The financial incentive is undeniable. While the average home in California sells for approximately $761,000, the average in Lake Havasu City is a far more accessible $435,000—a reduction of about 55 percent.
A Property Market Transformed
This influx has fundamentally altered the local property landscape. Realtor Kristina Horton, a resident since 2004, provided a stark comparison to the Los Angeles Times. In 2019, there were typically around 10 homes on the market valued at over $1 million. Today, that figure has skyrocketed to more than 100 such properties.
Despite this growth, prices remain significantly below those on the West Coast. This affordability, combined with a lower crime rate, continues to be a powerful draw. The migration is part of a broader national pattern. Consumer Affairs data shows that between March 2024 and March 2025, a staggering 15,568 people left California permanently, the highest number of any state. Arizona consistently ranks among the top 10 states people are migrating to, alongside Texas and Florida.
The London Bridge Legacy and Local Sentiment
Lake Havasu City's unique identity is inextricably linked to its most famous landmark. The city first gained notoriety in 1968 when inventor Robert McCulloch Sr., who himself moved from California, purchased the decommissioned London Bridge for $2.4 million. He had it shipped across the Atlantic and meticulously rebuilt it brick by brick as a grand gesture to put the fledgling city on the map.
A popular urban myth suggests McCulloch believed he was buying the more ornate Tower Bridge, but his family and the town dispute this. Now, the bridge serves as a central tourist attraction for a city that is rapidly evolving. Interestingly, many of the new arrivals, including Amber Whitehead, now express a desire to keep the city's virtues somewhat under wraps. They worry it could become the very place they left behind.
As Kristina Horton observed, even though many of her clients are from California, their perspective often changes after moving. "Their view seemed to change as they moved over," she noted, highlighting a common wish among the new residents that the city of 60,000 does not simply become a new version of the Golden State they worked so hard to escape.
