Golden State Losing Some of Its Luster, DMV Data Shows

California, here I go?

That, it appears, could become the new state anthem, according to a key demographic indicator released Tuesday.

For the first time in almost 20 years, more drivers left California than migrated to the Golden State, Department of Motor Vehicle license address change data for fiscal 1991-92 shows.

The state DMV records reveal that 13,000 fewer licensed drivers came to California than left for other states during the one-year period. By contrast, the state showed a net gain of 36,417 drivers in 1990-91 and a net gain of more than 131,000 in the peak year of 1988-89.

The newly released statistics do not take into account births and foreign immigration, which in the 1980s accounted for 82% of the state’s average annual population increase of 619,000.

“But it is of interest anytime a trend changes like this--when something that has been positive turns negative,” said Elizabeth Hoag, demographic research manager for the state Department of Finance.

The last time DMV statistics showed a net emigration was in fiscal 1973-74, when the state lost 3,000 drivers.

The new statistics show that 341,800 drivers transferred their licenses to California in 1991-92, while 354,800 drivers left.

Counties with the largest net emigration were Los Angeles, which lost 12,668 people to other states; San Bernardino, which lost 4,303, and Orange, which lost 3,981.

One year earlier, Los Angeles showed a net loss of 2,120 drivers to other states, its first net loss in memory.

Younger Americans are still moving to California. The net immigration of people age 18 to 29 was 46,440. But those figures were more than offset by people 30 and older who moved out.

“For people in the age group 30 to 44, the trend has been more in-migration than out,” Hoag said. “But in the last two years, there has been more out than in.”

Hoag said that a logical explanation for the change in demographics is the state’s queasy economy. “One of the main reasons people move is for jobs,” she said.

The largest net emigration in 1991-92 was the 15,557 people who moved to Oregon; 14,517 people left for Nevada and 11,488 for Washington. The largest net immigration continues to be from the recession-racked states of New York, with 10,264 arrivals, and Massachusetts, with 8,564.