Axios San Francisco

October 04, 2024
We made it to Friday!
Today's weather: High around 80, low in the mid-60s.
🎂 Happy early birthday to our Axios San Francisco members Harvey Ingham and Christine Preziosi!
Today's newsletter is 673 words — a 3-minute read.
1 big thing: Where Californians are moving


When Californians decide to leave the state, most of them are heading to Texas, new census data shows.
State of play: While moving overall is at an all-time low, there's been an uptick in state-to-state migration.
By the numbers: A five-year pooled average over 2018-2022 shows that almost 90,000 Californians made the journey to Texas.
- Arizona comes in second at over 64,700, while Nevada is third at about 54,100.
Meanwhile, the top five counties where people from California end up are:
- Clark County, Nevada
- Maricopa County, Arizona
- King County, Washington
- New York County, New York
- Ada County, Idaho
The big picture: That Texas is the top destination isn't entirely surprising — many tech companies relocated from the Bay Area to Austin in recent years.
- Elon Musk made headlines in 2021 when he announced that Tesla would move its headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin.
- He has since said he will also relocate the headquarters of X, formerly known as Twitter, and SpaceX from California to Texas.
Yes, but: Some tech workers are now seeking to return to the West Coast, citing Texas' low funding, lack of diversity, conservative politics and natural disasters.
The fine print: The maps are based on new 2018-2022 five-year state-to-county migration estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
- The estimates are best understood as a pooled average covering that time frame.
The bottom line: Most Americans stay close to home — but plenty are still making big moves, whether for a job, an education or family reasons.
Fresh Finds
🌱 Discover new local events.
Edelman's San Francisco Tech Week Media Panel at 525 Market St on Oct 10: Hear from local tech reporters for an exclusive discussion about trust in AI, including what the tech sector's future looks like against the backdrop of the upcoming election, evolving policy efforts, and more. Moderated by Margot Edelman, the event will be livestreamed via Zoom for those who cannot make it in person.
Hosting an event? Email [email protected].
2. 🧳 How we compare to other states


The above maps show where recent out-of-state movers from six states (California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas and Virginia) wound up.
- They had the most out-of-state movers from 2018-2022.
Between the lines: The maps show intriguing differences between these states' population outflows.
- Texas and California, for example, have plenty of folks moving just next door — but also strikingly apparent nationwide diasporas.
3. The Wiggle: Navigating the news
🚗 An outdated Department of Motor Vehicles office near Panhandle will be turned into an affordable housing complex, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced. (SF Chronicle)
🌡️ Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 school in the Mission had its drinking fountains cut off during the heatwave, teachers say. (Mission Local)
🏛️ The Wax Museum on Fisherman's Wharf has closed after 60 years. (ABC7 News)
🍕 World Pizza Cup champion Tony Gemignani has opened a new Slice House in East Bay's Castro Valley Marketplace. (SF Chronicle)
4. 🎨 Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week
The inaugural Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week is in full swing.
Why it matters: The event, which runs until Oct. 6, aims to honor and celebrate the richness of the Bay Area Black artist community.
- Organizers say their goal is also to increase partnerships between artists in San Francisco and Oakland.
How it happened: Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) director and CEO Monetta White came up with the idea for Nexus as a bridge for moving Black culture and art into the mainstream.
- "I am very tied to what we do here locally and how it has a global impact," White told the San Francisco Standard.
Driving the news: The art week started on Tuesday with an exhibition on liberatory living and radical Black joy.
- It was followed by panels on topics like Black cowboys, gallery presentations in partnership with MoAD, open studios with artists and an interactive sound mixing experience.
Zoom in: A highlight is "Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman," a recently unveiled monument honoring Maya Angelou by artist Lava Thomas.
- The artwork is located at the San Francisco Main Library and is the first monument commemorating a Black woman in San Francisco's Civic Art Collection.
What to watch: More programming is in store — including the Afropolitan Ball, MoAD's largest fundraising gala, on Saturday.
Other featured events:
- A guided tour about William Leidesdorff, America's "First Black Millionaire"
- An open studio with Ramekon O'Arwisters, whose sculptures are made of ceramic shards, fabric and black zip ties
- A multimedia anthology on reparations
- A screening of "Exhibiting Forgiveness" with filmmaker Titus Kaphar
Check out Nexus' full list of events!
🥢 Shawna is stuffing her face with Korean cold noodles.
☀️🌧️ Claire wants to hear your theories on SF's crazy seasons. Drop me a comment on Instagram to let me know whether I got my theories right.
This newsletter was edited by Ross Terrell.
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