February 8, 2022
This blog is dedicated to the topic of companies and residents leaving the state of California. If you have information to add, or notice information is outdated or incorrect, please message me at lauren[at]laurenelltalk.com.
Companies that have moved their headquarters out of California:
- Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Headquarters (relocated to Austin, Texas in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Digital Realty Trust (plans to relocate to Austin, Texas, 2021)
- Amazing Magnets (moved to Austin, Texas, 2021)
- ZP Better Together (moved to Austin, Texas, 2021)
- First Foundation Inc. (relocated its holding company to Dallas, Texas, 2021)
- Charles Schwab (relocated headquarters to Dallas, 2021)
- Oracle (moved to Austin, Texas, 2020)
- QuestionPro (moved to Austin, Texas, 2020) [1]
- CBRE Group (relocated to Dallas, Texas, 2020)
- Palantir (moved to Denver, Colorado, 2020)
- Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (announced it will relocate, 2020)
- Dasan Zhone Solutions (moved to Plano, Texas, 2020)
- SignEasy (moved to Dallas, Texas, 2019)
- Mitsubishi Motors (relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, 2019)
- ICEE (moved to Nashville, Tennessee, 2019)
- Dole (moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, 2019)
- McKesson (moved to Las Colinas, Texas, 2019) [1]
- Zoho (relocated to Austin, Texas, 2019)
- Nestle (moved to Arlington, Virginia, 2018)
- Carl’s Jr., aka CKE Restaurants (moved to Franklin, Tennessee, 2018) [1]
- Carvin Corporation (moved to unknown, 2018) [1]
- Bechtel (moved to Reston, Virginia, 2018) [1]
- Kuboto Tractor (moved to Grapevine, Texas, 2017) [1]
- Toyota (moved to Plano, Texas, 2017)
- Jacobs Engineering Group (moved to Dallas, Texas, 2016)
- Jamba Juice (moved to Frisco, Texas, 2016)
- Farmer Bros. Coffee (moved to Northlake, Texas, 2015)
- Navigenics, acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific (moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, 2014)
- Occidental Petroleum (moved to Houston, Texas, 2014)
- Ameriflight (moved to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, 2014)
- West Coast Choppers (moved to Austin, Texas, circa 2013?)
- Matson, Inc. (moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, 2011)
- Waste Connections (moved to The Woodlands, Texas, 2011)
- Claim Jumper (moved to Houston, Texas, 2011)
- Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (moved to Houston, Texas, 2011)
- Con-way (moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2011)
- Northrop Grumman (moved to West Falls Church, Virginia, 2011)
- Good Earth Tea (moved to Montvale, New Jersey, 2011)
- Verisign (moved to Reston, Virginia, 2010)
- LegalZoom (moved to Austin, Texas, 2010)
- Pacer International (moved to Dublin, Ohio, 2010) [1]
- CalPine (moved to Houston, Texas, 2009) [1]
- Malibu Boats (moved to Loudon, Tennessee, 2009)
- Hilton Hotels & Resorts (moved to McLean, Virginia, 2009)
- E-Loan (moved to Rosemont, Illinois, 2009)
- Fleetwood Enterprises (moved to Decatur, Indiana, 2009)
- Science Applications International Corporation (moved to Reston, Virginia, 2009) [1]
- Frederick’s of Hollywood (moved to New York City, New York, 2006)
- Riverdeep Interactive Leaning, acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology (moved to Boston, Massachusetts, circa 2006?)
- Crowley Maritime (moved to Jacksonville, Florida, circa 1998?)
Companies disinvesting in California:
- Stitch Fix (started building a distribution center in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2020, shut down its San Francisco distribution center in 2021)
- Apple (announced it will build new campus in Austin, Texas)
Noted individuals that have relocated out of California:
- Pauly Shore (comedian, relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada from Los Angeles in September 2021) [1]
- Dave Rubin (conservative commentator, relocated to Florida in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Hilary Swank (celebrity, relocated to Colorado in 2021 from Pacific Palisades, CA) [1]
- Kat Von D (celebrity, relocated to Indiana in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Joe Jonas (of the Jonas Brothers) and his wife Sophie Turner (Sansa in Game of Thrones, relocated to Miami, Florida in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Shane Dawson (Youtuber, relocated to Colorado in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Jeffree Star (entrepreneur, relocated to Casper, Wyoming in 2021 from Los Angeles) [1]
- David Blumberg (Blumberg Capital, relocated to Miami, Florida, 2021)
- Tomi Lahren (conservative commentator, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 2020 from Los Angeles) [1]
- Larry Ellison (investor, relocated to Hawaii, 2020)
- Drew Houston (co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, relocated to Austin, Texas, 2020) [1]
- Joe Lonsdale (Palantir cofounder, relocated to Austin, Texas, 2020) [1]
- Elon Musk (relocated to Austin, Texas, 2020) [1]
- Joe Rogan (relocated to Lake Austin, Texas, 2020)
- Gene Simmons (member of KISS, relocated to Washington state, 2020)
- Keith Rabois (investor, relocated to Miami, Florida, 2020) [1]
- Jonathan Oringer (founder of Shutterstock, relocated to Miami)
- Ben Shapiro (conservative talk show host, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, 2020)
- Douglas Merritt (CEO of software company Splunk, relocated to Austin, Texas) [1]
- Michael Dell (founder of Dell Technologies, relocated to Austin, Texas) [1]
- Tim Ferris (relocated to Austin, Texas, 2017)
Resources:
“Waking Up from the Dream, California’s Book of Exoduses.” California Policy Center. Link.
“List of companies leaving California grows, citing high tax burden, cost of living.” The Center Square. February 22, 2021. Link
“Corporate headquarter relocation to Texas.” Link.
“California Businesses Leave The State By The Thousands.” Hoover Institution. September 8, 2020. Link.
“1,800 Companies Left California In a Year – With Most Bound for Texas.” Southstar Communities. January 29, 2019. Link.