O.C. Losing Population to Neighbors : Migration: Riverside and San Bernardino counties are the major emigrant destinations.

All that traffic leaving Orange County on the Riverside Freeway may represent something more than the daily commute.

More Orange County residents migrated to neighboring Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties in the past year than moved to the county from those areas.

Nationally, Orange County continued to attract more people from other states than it lost to them--but just barely. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County--long a magnet for people from back East--actually registered a net loss to other states for the first time since records have been kept.

The statistics, gleaned from the state’s annual report of driver’s license address changes, do not take into consideration births or foreign immigrants, which have made Los Angeles County’s overall population soar during the past decade.

But demographers deem the Department of Motor Vehicles data the most detailed public accounting of population shifts within the state and between California and other states. The statistics also tend to freeze-frame migration trends that can have marked effects on the region’s economic and social fabric.

“More established middle-class families tend to be moving to the suburbs,” said state Department of Finance research manager John Malson. “The people replacing them in Los Angeles tend to be mostly from overseas or Latin America.”

DMV statistics show that 231,959 Los Angeles drivers reported moving to other counties and another 84,973 to other states in the yearlong period that ended June 30. Each driver, population researchers say, represents an actual movement of about 1.5 people.

Those who left were partially offset by new arrivals from other counties and states, but the net loss in Los Angeles to other counties and states was a record 105,672 drivers. The net loss has grown each year since at least 1986, when Los Angeles lost 14,367 drivers in the state’s annual study.

When people leave Los Angeles, the statistics show they go most often to nearby counties. Almost 50,000 Los Angeles County drivers changed their address to San Bernardino County last year--31,004 more than made the reverse move. The other biggest net migrations from Los Angeles County were, in order, to the counties of Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Ventura.

Los Angeles lost residents to every county in the state except Lassen. While 402 Los Angeles drivers moved to the sparsely settled northeastern California county, 468 Lassenites moved to Los Angeles.

In all, the DMV statistics showed a net loss of 2,120 Los Angeles County drivers to other states last year. It was the first time the tide was found to be flowing out of Los Angeles, which as recently as five years ago had a net gain of 36,863 drivers from other states.

“People used to come out here (from across the country) with dreams of a whole new life in Southern California,” said Cal State Northridge geography professor James P. Allen. “I don’t think there are many people who think that way now. It’s difficult with housing prices and employment problems.

“Very few are dreaming they can renew their lives in a nearly magical way, the way Los Angeles used to be a destination for people who had dreams,” Allen said.

For California as a whole, there were other eye-openers in the statistics. The entire state added just 36,417 new drivers from other states. In 1988-89, California had a net gain of 159,152 from elsewhere in the United States.

The largest net influxes to California were from the recession-wracked states of New York, 11,271; Massachusetts, 10,861, and Texas, 10,776.

Younger drivers continued to be the most strongly attracted to California. Of those age 18 to 24, the net influx was 47,949.

Older Californians departed more quickly than they were replaced. The net loss of drivers age 45 and older was 31,353.

San Diego County was the destination of choice for drivers who moved into California from other states. San Diego had a net increase of 10,484 drivers, followed by San Francisco with 6,796.

Tiny Alpine County--population 1,113 in the 1990 census--was the state’s stablest last year, suffering a net loss of five drivers. In all, 33 Alpine drivers moved out of state--18 of them to Nevada--and 28 out-of-staters moved in, including one from New Jersey, one from Maryland and 19 from Nevada.

Times staff writer Danny Sullivan contributed to this report.

Heading Elsewhere More Orange County residents migrated to other counties last year than moved into the area from around the state. Nationally, the county continued to draw more out-of-staters than it lost, according to Department of Motor Vehicle address-change records.

Moving Next Door

Population Changes, July, 1990-June, 1991

Net Gain From Los Angeles County: 16,811

Net Loss to San Bernardino County: -3,487

Net Loss to Riverside County: -12,878

Net Loss to San Diego County: -2,402

Orange County’s neighbors gained more people than they lost from Orange County, except for Los Angeles County, which provided almost all local gains. Nine people were also gained from San Benito County.

County Left O.C. Came to O.C. Net Loss Riverside 20,248 7,370 -12,878 San Bernardino 9,400 5,913 -3,487 San Diego 9,211 6,809 -2,402 Sacramento 1,462 876 -586 San Luis Obispo 1,054 599 -455 All Counties 94,332 86,400 -7,932

Fewer Losses Within the State

In all, Orange County lost 7,932 people to other counties between July 1990, and June 1991--fewer people lost than in the two previous years.

People Lost to Other Counties

1985-86: 2,888

1986-87: 4,486

1987-88: 5,883

1988-89: 10,915

1989-90: 12,034

1990-91: 7,932

California, Here We Come?

The number of people coming to California from out-of-state has dropped dramatically. Five years ago, the county gained 66% more people from the other states than it lost. This past year, only 3% more were gained.

Year Orange County California 1985-86 66% 52% 1986-87 65% 52% 1987-88 62% 50% 1988-89 43% 57% 1989-90 12% 24% 1990-91 3% 11%

SOURCE: State Department of Finance analysis of DMV statistics.

Researched by: Danny Sullivan / Los Angeles Times