The San Francisco region leads the nation in the number of people fleeing the big city. But it's who is leaving that could have an impact on all of us.
With blue skies and temperatures in the mid-seventies, Monday was one of those days when you wonder why anyone would want to leave San Francisco. However that's exactly what's happening. A new census-data study from the American Community Survey shows, in 2021, the SF Metro area lost 2.5 percent of its population --116,000 people just packed up and left.
"You're seeing fewer workers today--by the thousands--in San Francisco and Oakland," he said."So, any retail, barbershop, gym, florist, that was serving that office economy has really struggled and is going to have a very tough time coming back.""I don't see it," McDonnell said."There aren't less people on the roads, the economy seems to be doing fine, we're still creating more jobs.
Dave Vautin with the Association of Bay Area Governments, or ABAG, said the decrease in income tax revenue alone could put the brakes on the state's efforts to support the homeless or build housing. Vautin said the City's struggles with issues like homelessness, drug addiction and blight have caused even those who CAN afford the high rents to question if it's worth it.