Conservative Californians are leaving the Golden State for Idaho in increasing numbers, attracted by lower costs, conservative values, and a perceived better quality of life. Russell Petti, a 70-year-old lawyer who moved from La Cañada to Twin Falls last September, described the experience as 'absolutely wonderful'. He said the people are 'remarkably pleasant and polite', comparing the atmosphere to Mayberry, the fictional small town from the 1960s Andy Griffith Show.
Mr Petti is part of a wider trend. Between 2019 and 2023, 75% of the roughly 23,000 Californians who moved to Idaho and registered to vote did so as Republicans, a breakdown even more conservative than the state itself. Idaho was one of the top five destinations for Californians between 2021 and 2022, according to census data.
Brendan Kirkpatrick, a 55-year-old former police officer from Los Angeles, moved to Meridian in 2019. He cited frustration with California's politics, higher prices, taxes, and what he saw as a declining sense of law and order on issues like immigration and homelessness. 'We were just tired of the politics. I saw it firsthand as a police officer for 25 years in LA,' he said. He also appreciated Idaho's more relaxed approach to Covid restrictions.
Nicholas Contos, chair of Idaho's Bonneville County Republican Party, said, 'They moved here because their values match here.' The influx has contributed to Idaho's population growth, even as California's population fell for the first time in 2020 before rebounding slightly in 2023.
